Raikkonen Pleased Despite Steering Problem

Finn Kimi Raikkonen was pleased after posting the fifth quickest time of the day in today's practice for the Monaco Grand Prix.

"A good practice session where we went through most of our planned programme," said Raikkonen. "Like David I had a problem with the power steering which caused some interruption to the second session.

"The circuit has been resurfaced, so it's not as bumpy as it used to be. The car seems to suit the tight circuit design here in Monaco, so hopefully we can fight for good positions if everything keeps going well."

Both Raikkonen and McLaren teammate David Coulthard were hindered by a problem with their car's power steering. McLaren said they had introduced a modification to have greater steering travel for this race, but the changes caused seal failures that interrupted their sessions.

Team principal Ron Dennis said some alternative components would be manufactured by Saturday to solve the problem.

Scot Coulthard, a two times Monaco winner who was gloomy about the struggling team's prospects on Wednesday, produced the 11th fastest time of the day.

"I always look forward to driving around the Monaco circuit," he said. "As we had to do some repairs to our power steering system, we couldn't do as many laps as we would have liked in the second session. Otherwise it looks like our pace is reasonable.

"It's brilliant to be able to attack the corners. and as this is a real drivers' circuit I enjoy it so much more than many others."