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Raikkonen: disappointed

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Kimi Raikkonen has questioned Lewis Hamilton's explanation of their Canadian Grand Prix coming together, with the World Champion saying he felt "disappointed" by events in Montreal.

Alongside eventual winner Robert Kubica, Raikkonen was waiting at the end of the pitlane at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve when Hamilton, who led the first 19 laps of the race, ploughed into the back of the Finn's stationary Ferrari.

Raikkonen and Kubica had both stopped for a red light preventing cars rejoining the race immediately because of the presence of the safety car on the track.

Hamilton, who had led both the BMW Sauber and the Ferrari into the pits, claimed he saw the red light too late and was unable to avoid driving into the back of Raikkonen's car.

However, Raikkonen has now questioned Hamilton's view of the accident, which put both Championship rivals out of the race on the spot.

He said: "I can't believe somebody can hit you when you are standing in front of a red light and side by side with another car.

"I can't believe he did not see the red light, and more than that, the two stationary cars. He knows there was a red light. Accidents happen, but not with two cars that have stopped.

"I was ready to fight and try to beat Kubica after the red light, but that never happened. Instead, along came Hamilton and our race was over.

"I was not angry. Just disappointed, surprised and frustrated at the same time."

Penalty

Following the race, stewards handed Hamilton at 10-place grid penalty at next weekend's French Grand Prix, meaning the McLaren Mercedes star will start outside the top 10 for the first time in his Formula One career.

"I think Hamilton deserves his penalty," insisted Raikkonen.

"He loses 10 places for the next race in France, and at least it is not going to make things any easier for him."

Raikkonen, who finished ninth after hitting the back of Adrian Sutil's Force India car in the Monaco Grand Prix, has now failed to score in the last two races.

As a consequence, he has dropped from first to fourth in the Drivers' Championship, trailing new leader Kubica by seven points, with Hamilton and Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa three points ahead.

Nevertheless, despite the breakthrough win achieved by Kubica and BMW Sauber, Raikkonen still believes that Massa and Hamilton are his main challengers.

"We lost a good result in Canada," he added.

"The car was very strong on speed, and I felt we could have won, or at worst, been second. Now, after seven races, we have had two bad results in a row, something nobody could have predicted.

"Obviously, our position is not that strong any more, but it's not the end of the world. We have not lost that much.

"I'm still fourth in the championship, the same position as last year, and like then, there is still a long season ahead of us.

"I'm just glad Kubica won - and congratulations to him. For me, it was better he got the 10 points rather than my main rivals who are now just three points ahead of me.

"BMW has been there and scored points all the time and they now have a nice lead, but I'm not worried about that. Although if they keep scoring every race then it won't be that easy to catch them in the championship.

"But we've a very strong feeling about our car, and we will win again soon."