Raikkonen predicts tight battle for title

The Ferrari driver dominated the Malaysian Grand Prix last Sunday, while rivals McLaren were unable to fight on top after being hit by penalties in qualifying.

A week earlier, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton had taken a commanding win in Australia while Ferrari had a weekend to forget.

"This is going to be a very tight battle all year long," wrote Raikkonen in a column on his personal website. "As I said before the first race, this season is very long. Now we have just started, and nobody can say what happens next.

"Obviously, we have a winning car. While everything works well, we have the speed to win races. We just need to get qualifying in a better shape. When the qualifying performance is there, it also helps a lot for the race."

He added: "Obviously, it was great to win again. I've got a really nice feeling while flying back home after the race on Sunday. The race was run exactly according to our plan.

"While we didn't have any problems, the speed is there. No doubt about that. Our car is strong enough to take, and to keep the first place."

Raikkonen admitted his win on Sunday had been easy and he claimed he could have gone faster if needed.

"It was an easy victory," he said. "We just took it really easy and saved the car and engine for the next race. I could have gone much faster, but there wasn't any need for that.

"I won my first ever Grand Prix in Malaysia too. As I remember, it was also pretty easy back then five years ago too. It just shows that when the car is working well, Sepang seems to suit me well."

Raikkonen is second in the standings, three points behind Hamilton.