Raikkonen: One of My Best Wins

The McLaren driver charged through the field from the back of the grid to seize the lead from Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella on the final lap.

And after suffering an engine failure on Friday and at the hands of the rain in qualifying, Raikkonen acknowledged that the win had not come easy.

"Of course it was a more difficult win than any of my others," he said. "I had to fight for it and it was one of my best wins. It was great. Even with the 10-place penalty (for an engine change) and qualifying with the weather I was still able to win."

But the afternoon had not been completely trouble-free - after Raikkonen had a minor collision with teammate Juan Pablo Montoya at the second corner.

"There was quite a lot happening at the first and second corners," he explained. "Juan Pablo touched me on the rear wheel a little bit and I got a bit sideways, although luckily there was no damage. I ran wide in the chicane as well - but then something happened to him and he went off."

Raikkonen's progress through the field was also hampered a little bit by his seventh gear being too short - which meant he kept hitting the rev-limiter while trying to overtake his rivals.

"We had a slight problem with the gearing and seventh was a bit short, so every time I got close I kept hitting the rev-limiter.

"But in the end the car was getting better all the time so I was able to catch up. Just before my last stop I was able to go fast and pull out a little bit of a gap.

"I thought that maybe I had a chance to catch him (Giancarlo) up and in the last lap I was able to get him on the main straight. I started to hit the rev limiter again but I kept it in as much as I could around the first corner."