McLaren Expect Debris and Determination from Kimi

Kimi Raikkonen hopes to be a winner with McLaren this season but team boss Ron Dennis expects the young Finn to dent a few cars on the way.

"I hope I will win at least one race, score as many points as possible," the 22-year-old Raikkonen told reporters at the launch of the team's new Mercedes-powered MP4-17 car in Barcelona on Saturday.

Raikkonen closed out his debut season with Sauber in Japan last October with a big crash that also involved the Jordan of French veteran Jean Alesi in his last race. Dennis, who signed Raikkonen as a replacement for Mika Hakkinen, suggested there would be more bashed bodywork to come as the Finn settled in at his new team.

"We know exactly what we expect of both drivers," he said of Raikkonen and teammate David Coulthard, a distant runner-up to Ferrari's Michael Schumacher last season but a winner of 11 races in his career. We think that they are both capable of winning races, we do not consider Kimi's lack of experience a handicap to him winning.

"We do anticipate maybe a little bit more damage on the car because we expect him to drive very hard and, if you don't have the level of experience that some of the other drivers have, then in trying very hard he's more likely to find himself making mistakes.

"I think that's the price you pay, and that we are prepared to pay, to have the potential in the team that he represents."

Past Probation

Raikkonen arrived in Formula One last season with just 23 single seater races under his belt and on a four-race probation after a debate about whether he should be allowed a super-licence to compete. He swiftly silenced the critics, scoring a point in his first race in Australia after Olivier Panis's BAR was disqualified.

Along the way, he also made a few headlines when it emerged that team boss Peter Sauber had banned him from taking his then girlfriend to the first three races. He made clear on Saturday that the "sex ban" was now ancient history and that he felt under no more pressure to prove himself as a driver than when he arrived at Sauber.

"It was the same situation last year when I had to prove myself good enough to keep my licence," he said.

Coulthard has said he expects his steely-eyed teammate to beat him occasionally during the season and the Finn made clear that he intended to do just that.

"Of course I try to beat him always...he's just my teammate and so he's the main car that you are always comparing yourself against," he said.

Raikkonen, as one questioner pointed out to his bewilderment, is no chatterbox in English but he also appeared completely at ease with life at McLaren and ready to let his driving do the talking.

"The new car looks great and we just hope that it's going to be great also on the circuit," he said.