Raikkonen hails 'perfect' Spanish GP

Ferrari driver Raikkonen took his second win of the season in Barcelona, leading a one-two for the Italian squad, with Felipe Massa in second.

Raikkonen also took his first pole position of the year and set the fatest lap of the race.

The Finn admitted things had never gone so smoothly for him before.

"It was a perfect weekend for us in Barcelona," said Raikkonen on Ferrari's website. "We were going really fast all the time and we didn't have the slightest problem during the sunny days here.

"Every time you go to a race, you think about what might happen: It is so often that something goes wrong.

"Many times I have won and afterwards still had the feeling that it could have gone better. It's so often that something goes wrong. Many times, even after I have won, I had the feeling that it could have gone better.

"This time I did not have that feeling: this was probably the best weekend I've ever had in my career. In this business you're not able to reach perfection, but this time we came pretty close. We started strongly on Friday's practice and we finished even stronger on Sunday.

"All the things we've brought onto the track worked out just fine and we also improved the speed of the car."

Raikkonen left Spain with a nine-point lead in the championship, and the Ferrari driver said it was a nice feeling to have a cushion that allows him to have one bad race.

"Winning the race was good for me and it was good for the team," he added. "We hoped to get the one-two win and we got it.

"Now we're leading in both of the championships, but we have to work even harder now to keep our position. I've got such a lead that it gives me a little safety for the championships. But it takes only one bad result and it's gone.

"At least we could afford a bad result, but the others can't. That might help a bit. There's a long road to go and I know very well that we are not going to have weekends like the one we had at Barcelona every time.

"Obviously there will be difficulties, but we have a strong car and the speed to try to win in every race. "