Raikkonen Sure to Find more Speed

The Finn was outpaced only by Friday testers Ricardo Zonta and Alexander Wurz on the first day of action, and believes there is more to come from his McLaren.

"Today has gone well and I am pretty happy with the balance of the car," he said. "The track was still not at its best as it was rather dusty which is normal for the Friday at Hungary.

"I feel that there is still some room for us to improve and the times will drop once we have a clean and fast line. There is still some work to do during free practice tomorrow morning when we will do the final tweaks to our set up for qualifying and the race."

Teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, who was sixth fastest overall, had no complaints about how his car felt.

"I completed my planned programme today, and I am satisfied with the work I have done," he said. "The car feels good with the race set up. I am not too worried about the temperatures as it was just as hot when we tested in Jerez a fortnight ago, so I think we are well prepared for the rest of the weekend."

Despite the encouraging speed, however,  Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug remained well aware about the team's reliability issues that have dented their World Championship ambitions.

"We completed our planned programme and all drivers posted good and consistent lap times," he said. "But it's Sunday that counts and everybody in the team is aware of this."