Raikkonen Chases Podium Finish at Monza

Although he finally squeezed an entry to the winners' list in 2009 – as hard as it might have seemed at the beginning of the year – Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen preferred to keep his feet on the ground when talking about the upcoming Italian grand Prix. Until now, only Jenson Button scored back-to-back wins in 2009, so the prospect of the Fin joining him on that list is very appealing to the Scuderia.

However, both Raikkonen and team manager Stefano Domenicali insist the Monza track will not necessarily suit the Ferrari F60, therefore repeating the win at Spa will be very difficult, despite racing in front of a home crowd.

Ferrari and McLaren have this week been joined by Renault in announcing they will use the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) at Monza, a track where the unit is believed to be worth around a quarter of a second per lap. Talking about the upcoming weekend, Raikkonen believes chasing a podium on Sunday would be a far more logical approach rather than going for the race win.

“In Belgium we won and we want to go on like this in the last races, trying to stay on the podium. It's one of the most important GPs of the year, because we race in front of our fans and it would be great to give them satisfaction,” said Raikkonen in a press preview of the Italian GP.

Having never won a race at Monza, Raikkonen is also boosted by the fact that he scored the most points in the championship as compared to any driver in the F1 roster in the last 3 races. Consecutive podiums at the Hungaroring, Valencia and Spa turned him into Ferrari's most lethal weapon in the second half of the season.

Also, racing alongside a new teammate in the person of Giancarlo Fisichella is also something Raikkonen looks forward to this weekend.

“I'll have a new teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella. I always got along very well with him. He's one of the most expert drivers and we will give our best to help Ferrari keep the third place in the Constructors' Championship,” added Kimi.