Raikkonen praises McLaren's strategy

Raikkonen's two-stop strategy was key to him taking the runner-up spot at Imola, although he had to fend off a charging Rubens Barrichello at the end.

"I would like to say a big thank you to the team for choosing the right strategy today," he said. "I must admit I was quite pleased when I saw Ferrari and BMW Williams coming in for their first stops. I had a problem getting the car into gear during the second pitstop, but it didn't cost too much time. Towards the end of the race Rubens put me under a bit of pressure, but I could keep second place and the lead in the championship."

Team principal Ron Dennis gave Michelin some mild criticism after the race, as its rubber suffered some performance dips at certain stages of the race, but also bemoaned its lowly starting positions.

"Our race performance and ultimate result reflected firstly our starting positions and secondly a marginal disadvantage in one area of our tyres' performance," he said. "Inevitably in a tyre war teams enjoy an advantage when their respective partner gets it right which was certainly the case with Michelin in the first three grands prix. That said, a good strategy and excellent performances from our drivers gave us some valuable points which sees us maintaining our world championship lead."