Raikkonen Enjoys First Outing with McLaren

New McLaren signing Kimi Raikkonen declared himself fully satisfied after his first outing in one of the Formula One team's cars on Tuesday.

"I really enjoyed my first drive in the McLaren," he said after a rain-hit day of testing at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya. "It was the moment I had been waiting for during the last couple of months. Now I can't wait to try the new MP4-17," added the Finn, who has moved from Sauber to replace compatriot and two times champion Mika Hakkinen.

Hakkinen is taking a sabbatical year and Barcelona represented the low point of 2001 for him after his McLaren expired a mere handful of curves from the finish while he was leading comfortably. McLaren, Championship runners-up for the past three seasons, are testing with modified versions of their 2001 car until the launch of the 2002 model in Barcelona on January 19.

"I only had a limited amount of running today and it's definitely too early for me to make detailed observations about the car," added 22-year-old Raikkonen. "But I am impressed overall and with the professionalism of the team and observing how David works."

The Finn was sixth fastest on a day when his Scottish teammate David Coulthard was fastest in 1:20.816.