Raikkonen: Hamilton penalty was deserved

by - 6/11/2008 03:03:00 p.m.


Kimi Raikkonen believes Lewis Hamilton got the penalty he deserved following their crash at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The British McLaren driver will lose ten places on the grid in France after crashing into the back of his Ferrari rival's car at the end of the pitlane in Montreal.

Although Hamilton said the penalty was harsh, Raikkonen in fact reckons the Briton deserved it.

"I still can't believe it, that someone can hit you while you are standing at the red light next to another car," said Raikkonen. "I can't imagine how Hamilton could not see the red lights and the two cars standing in front of him.

"I think that Hamilton deserved the penalty. He loses ten positions on the grid for the next race in France, which will make it more difficult for him at Magny-Cours."

He added: "Anyway we lost the possibility to have a good result in Canada. At the moment when the safety car came on the track, my car was running very fast: we could have won, or, in the worst case, come second.

"I was ready to fight and overtake Kubica, once the lights were green. But I didn't have the time, as Hamilton crashed into my back and the race was over. I'm not angry. Just disappointed, surprised and frustrated at the same time. He knew that the lights were red.

"Accidents happen, but it's difficult not to see two cars stopped."

The Finn has not scored a point in the last two races and has dropped from first to fourth in the standings.

But Raikkonen is adamant that Ferrari are strong and that he will return to winning ways soon.

"I came back from Montreal with a really good impression of the F2008 and I'm sure that we can win again very soon," he said. "Because now we go to circuits where we are usually very strong.

"You know that I don't like to look behind: I'm concentrated on the French GP, where I want to repeat last year's result, when we brought home a wonderful one-two win."

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