Raikkonen confident despite Newey exit

Newey will turn his back on McLaren at the start of next year for a new opportunity at Red Bull Racing.

And with the team's technical director having designed a host of race winning cars since he joined in 1997, including the two that took the title with Mika Hakkinen in 1998 and 1999, his defection has been viewed by some as a major blow to their future aspirations.   

But Raikkonen claims that he and the team are confident they can overcome Newey's loss.

Speaking in an interview with Chinese news agency Xinhau, Raikkonen said: "From having spoken to the team, we don't expect Adrian's departure to have an effect on our future World Championship campaigns.

"The team knew how to win races and championships before Adrian joined and Formula One is very much a team effort. This was the case during Adrian's time with the team and will continue to be so."

Raikkonen has insisted that he is refusing to look back on the missed opportunities of the 2005 season, when he was beaten to the world title by Fernando Alonso despite McLaren having a quicker car for much of the year.

"It was very frustrating at the time, but you can't look back," he explained. "You can only look forward. Now I am focused on getting back to testing and racing in 2006 and hopefully taking part in another battle for both Championships."

He added: "After the development that took place in the early part of the season, MP4-20 was a great car. It handled well, was simple to set-up and quick on all different types of circuit. It also won ten races, which was more than any other car.

"There were a number of things that happened in the races that meant I wasn't able to win as many races as that car could have, but that is racing, you can't dwell on it."