What The Papers Had To Say About Spain

Monday 28th April 2008

Fleet Street is already crowning Kimi Raikkonen the 2008 F1 Drivers' Champion, with the general consensus being that no one can stop him...

'Kimi Raikkonen took another confident step towards a second consecutive drivers' title yesterday when he led the Spanish grand prix from start to finish to make it two wins in the season's first four races. On a day full of incident the Finn crossed the line 3.2sec ahead of his Ferrari team-mate, Felipe Massa, to clinch the 19th win of his career. It was the 78th team one-two since the world championship began in 1950.

'Raikkonen's total assurance rang out another worrying message to the opposition throughout the the 66-lap race, run in warm but not oppressive conditions at the Circuit de Catalunya, the favourite European testing venue for most of the teams. ' - Alan Henry, the Guardian

'Ferrari one-two. Get used to it. For the second race in succession the Scuderia won without breaking sweat. A burst around the Circuit de Catalunya from pole in a car this good was like a Sunday afternoon mowing the lawn for Kimi Raikkonen. The only demand was getting the geometry right through the corners, which he did with metronomic accuracy.

'There was an added plus for Raikkonen. This was his 51st podium finish, which leaves him tied with countryman Mika Hakkinen in ninth spot on the all-time list. It was also the first time he has won a race in the presence of Schumacher, who tops the podium charts with 154 visits. In the reckoning that matters now, Raikkonen stands nine points clear of Hamilton in the world championship table on 29.' - Kevin Garside, The Telegraph

'Everything went so smoothly for Kimi Raikkonen yesterday that not even the presence of his former rival Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari pit could put a hex on his performance. On previous occasions the attendance of the former champion has somehow affected the Finn's fortunes, but this time nothing could stand between the reigning world champion and another visit to the top step of the podium.' - David Tremayne, the Independent

'The Spanish Grand Prix proved what the build-up to the race had suggested, that the Ferraris are out in front in this year's design race and Kimi Raikkonen in particular has hit a rich vein of form.

'With a one-two for the red cars from Maranello - Felipe Massa drove a solid race to finish second - Raikkonen has now extended his world championship lead after four races from three to nine points from Lewis Hamilton in second.' - Edward Gorman, The Times

'This was a story of survival. There was Lewis Hamilton's damage limitation exercise behind the flyaway Ferraris. And then his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen's death-defying escape from the debris of his crippled McLaren.

'If third place for the British driver was a small mercy after starting fifth and seeing Kimi Raikkonen's win at the Spanish Grand Prix extend his championship lead, the simple fact Kovalainen was alive after smashing into a tyre wall at a force greater than a jet pilot who's just pressed the ejector button was a miracle.' - Jonathan McEvoy, The Daily Mail

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