Raikkonen Pleased after 'Decent' Start

Finn Kimi Raikkonen was pleased after what he said was a decent start to his San Marino Grand Prix weekend at Imola.

McLaren driver Raikkonen, who is yet to finish a Grand Prix this season following a dismal start to the year, was unable to escape trouble however, and could only complete four laps in the opening session.

Things improved in the afternoon, however, and the Finn covered 23 laps on his way to a promising fourth place.

"I only managed a small amount of running in the first practice today as there was a small problem with the brakes," said Raikkonen. "However we had a trouble-free second session where I did a number of laps and whilst the car is still not perfect, we seem to be reasonably quick.

"We will make further improvements for tomorrow, so we will see where we really are then, but a decent start to the weekend."

Scot teammate David Coulthard was ninth fastest after a trouble-free day.

"We completed our planned programme for Friday, and we will now look at the data and establish where we can make further improvements," said Coulthard. "The important thing is tomorrow's qualifying as this is when we will find out exactly how much progress we have made."