Dennis: McLaren Hampered by Tyre Performance

McLaren boss Ron Dennis has blamed his drivers' poor starting positions and the performance of the Michelin tyres for not scoring a better result in today's San Marino Grand Prix.

McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen kept his Championship lead despite finishing second to World Champion and Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher. Raikkonen has 32 points to teammate David Coulthard's 19, while Schumacher is in third place with 18 points following his first win of the year.

Raikkonen had started the race from sixth place, while teammate Coulthard, who went on to finish in fifth, had qualified in 12th. Dennis said they were hindered by their starting positions and claimed the Bridgestone-shod cars had a performance advantage.

"Our race performance and ultimate result reflected firstly our starting positions and secondly a marginal disadvantage in one area of our tyres' performance," said Dennis after the race.

"Inevitably in a tyre war teams enjoy an advantage when their respective partner gets it right which was certainly the case with Michelin in the first three Grands Prix. That said a good strategy and excellent performances from our drivers gave us some valuable points which sees us maintaining our World Championship lead."