Raikkonen Targets Victory in Brazil

Finn Kimi Raikkonen believes his McLaren team will be able to challenge Ferrari for victory at this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix.

Raikkonen and teammate David Coulthard, winner in Brazil in 2001 but without a drive for next year, had looked quick in the morning and continued with their strong showing in the afternoon session, the Finn posting the third fastest time.

"I was quite pleased with the set-up of the car from the very beginning, which always makes Friday's practice much more productive," said Raikkonen, winner of the Belgian Grand Prix this year. "I had one set of tyres which were not too good and that was one of the reasons why I had a little spin at the start of the second session at Turn Eight.

"It's going to be an interesting weekend, but it's important to make a perfect lap in qualifying, as we are all so close. There is no doubt that Ferrari will be strong here, but I believe we will be able to battle with them."

Coulthard was unable to match his teammate's pace in the afternoon, however, and finished down in 15th place.

"We went through our tyre evaluation programme, but unfortunately I couldn't show the full potential of the car as I got stuck in traffic which is often the case on this short circuit - on my fast lap I had to overtake three cars," said Coulthard.

"Anyway I like this track because of its natural flow and have always performed well here, and hopefully I will do so again this weekend."