Kimi optimistic over new car

McLaren will not have the car for the Canadian and United States GPs, run back-to-back over the next 10 days in Montreal and Indianapolis, but the Finn is hopeful that it will be available to boost the team's performance as soon as possible after the return to Europe for the French Grand Prix on July 4.

Speaking of the recent test with the 19B at Silverstone, Raikkonen said: "It went really well, the only small problems with cooling and brakes coming due to parts and the tight schedule that we were on. But the car felt quite a lot better. How soon we have it depends on how quickly we will get all the spare parts."

Explaining the areas of improvement, Raikkonen added: "With the current car we have had the biggest problem with the rear under braking, where it's very loose and sometimes hard to adapt to corners. It's also heavier on tyres than the 17D was and so our race pace not as strong as it should be.

"In all those areas the 19B is better. But it's only been one test at Silverstone so we don't want to go mad, but I am quite confident that it will be quite an improvement. Hopefully with 19B we can start fighting for podiums and possibly wins, because it has been very difficult so far.

"Some people were saying that I messed up the race at Nurburgring. Well, I'm sorry about that, but what was I supposed to do? Move over and let everyone by? In fact, I had problems with my front tyres, which made me slow early in the race. It was improving as the first pit stops approached and I would have been quicker after that, but then I had my problem. It's tough, but what can you do? Some people scream and shout, but that's not my way. What does it achieve?"