Raikkonen blasts Hamilton

Finn unhappy after pit lane shunt in Canada

Last updated: 9th June 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Raikkonen blasts Hamilton

Raikkonen's race was ended by the pitlane shunt

If I am going 300 kilometres-an-hour and lose control and hit somebody it is natural. But if I do it in a pit-lane, with a speed limit, with two cars stopped, and you hit them it is stupid.

Kimi Raikkonen
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Lewis Hamilton's driving in the Canadian GP has been described as 'stupid' by an aggrieved Kimi Raikkonen.

The world champion was shunted out of the race when Hamilton rammed into the back of his Ferrari having failed to spot a red light denying access back on to the race track from the pit lane.

Raikkonen briefly confronted his McLaren rival before he stalked back to the Ferrari garage and was still simmering when he spoke to reporters a few hours later.

"I am not angry because that doesn't achieve anything and does not change my result. I am unhappy, because I had a great chance of winning," he said.

"I am maybe not the best person to say you shouldn't hit anybody from behind after what happened in the last race [when Raikkonen crashed into Adrian Sutil at Monaco] but these are completely different stories.

"If I am going 300 kilometres-an-hour and lose control and hit somebody it is natural.

Stupid

"But if I do it in a pit lane, with a speed limit, with two cars stopped, and you hit them it is stupid.

"I saw the red light and chose to stop. Unfortunately someone saw the red light and chose not to stop."

The stewards evidently concurred with Raikkonen's reasoning.

Having declined to punish him for wrecking Sutil's race in Monaco, they have imposed a 10-place grid penalty on Hamilton for next week's France GP.

But that will be of limited consolation to Raikkonen whose title bid is faltering after an imperious start to the new season.

"I have failed to score in these last two races and now it's time to start winning again," he admitted.

"There is still a long way to go in the championship and it is still very close and we have everything we need to regain the ground we have lost."

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