I Can Win Again this Season, Says Raikkonen

McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen believes he can win another race before the end of the season following his victory at the Belgian Grand Prix last week.

"On paper every remaining race should match the characteristics of our car, so I expect to win again before the end of the season," Raikkonen told Gazzetta dello Sport. "[Reliability] is one aspect where we still have lots of work to do.

"That win [at Spa] was particularly important for the team because it rewarded the great effort needed for the introduction of the B version of the car in the middle of the season. That joy re-paid the incredible job done by everyone."

The Finn scored an impressive victory at the Spa circuit which was the highlight of a miserable season full of problems. Before the Belgian race, Raikkonen had scored just 18 points in 13 races and had failed to finish in the points in eight of them.

The McLaren driver, last year's Championship runner-up, said that the team knew of their problems before the start of the season.

"The performance of the car was below expectations, and despite our efforts it wasn't improving," he said. "I've always remained calm. I never doubted of my ability because I knew that the problem wasn't me. From my point of view I've always given 100%, but my efforts were thwarted by the car's unreliability.

"Even when we managed to find the speed, we couldn't finish the races: when it wasn't the engine failing, it was some other accessory."

Raikkonen's win at Spa put an end to Michael Schumacher's winning streak after the Ferrari driver had taken seven consecutive victories on his way to his seventh world title. The German has won 12 out of 14 races this year, but Raikkonen believes Schumacher is beatable.

"I don't think he's absolutely the fastest," Raikkonen added. "Obviously he's very good, but he also has a strong and competitive Ferrari at his disposal. I believe that Michael isn't at all unbeatable. However to beat him you need a car as good as his.

"With the introduction of the MP4/19B we made a remarkable step forward, and we are definitely faster than during the first half of the season. The difference is that the Ferrari doesn't break down, while my McLaren failed ten times."