Raikkonen never lost faith in Ferrari

SEPANG, Malaysia -- Kimi Raikkonen cruised to victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday and insisted Ferrari never doubted they would bounce back from a terrible start to the season

Finn Raikkonen took the checkered flag 19.5 seconds ahead of BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica with Heikki Kovalainen claiming an impressive third for McLaren.

Kovalainen's team-mate Lewis Hamilton made the best of a bad weekend by finishing fifth. A problem with a wheel nut during Hamilton's first pit stop cost the championship leader a tilt at the podium after he initially lined up ninth on the grid having incurred a five-place penalty in qualifying.

He still leads the drivers' standings by three points from Raikkonen and BMW driver Nick Heidfeld but it was a welcome result for Ferrari, although Felipe Massa failed to finish after he ended up in the gravel having completed 30 laps.

The Italian team proved strong throughout the weekend and, after the debacle in Australia when both drivers retired with engine failures, Raikkonen felt it was the perfect way to answer the detractors.

"We never lost confidence in our team," he said. "Of course we had quite a difficult race in Australia but the whole winter the car has been working well - it's been quick.

"Unfortunately, we had some problems which we didn't really expect at the first race and hopefully we can get rid of them, like here, where we didn't have any issues.

"But you never know, we're still not 100% happy with things.

"We're still trying to improve them but we have confidence in the team, in the car, in the people and hopefully we can be fast again in the next race."

Pole-sitter Massa had led the field into the first corner after holding off Raikkonen, only for the Finn to leapfrog his team-mate during the first round of pit stops.

And the 28-year-old acknowledged his route to victory became much easier once Massa's afternoon came to a premature end, echoing Hamilton's comments after his win in Australia.

"We could have gone much faster if we had pushed but we had already turned the engines down before the first pit stop, after the first laps," he added. "So it was quite easy for us.

"I think I had enough space at the start. He (Massa) was pushing me a little bit on the right side but that's racing. It was okay."

Kubica enjoyed a fairly low-key afternoon en route to his best finish in Formula One, crossing the line almost 19 seconds ahead of Kovalainen after benefiting from Massa's misfortune.

"At the beginning of the race I had a close fight with Jarno (Trulli) and Nick (Heidfeld) into the first corner," he said. "Afterwards I was trying to increase the gap to the drivers behind.

"I was expecting McLaren to come on strong. It didn't happen, luckily for us, and we had quite good pace for the whole race.

"After a disappointing race in Australia when I qualified second, we worked mainly on the race pace here.

"I knew with what we chose in qualifying, we would suffer a bit, but then in the race it paid off, so I'm very happy for myself and for the team."

Kovalainen had begun the race in eighth after he, like Hamilton, had been penalised five places on the grid for impeding Heidfeld and Fernando Alonso at the end of yesterday's qualifying session.

However, a solid drive combined with sound race strategy saw the Finn claim a first podium for his new employers, albeit in unspectacular fashion.

Kovalainen acknowledged Ferrari were the dominant force this weekend, but he insisted he was hampered from the outset.

"I think there was no way we could match Ferrari," he said. "BMW also seemed to be very strong on race day but then again, when you start further down on the grid, it's always going to be a compromise.

"You initially lose quite a lot of time, the first few laps you can lose a couple of seconds a lap if you get stuck in traffic and you're fighting for position.

"So by the time I sort of got going in the race, the gap to Robert was seventeen seconds.

"It's impossible to say what would have happened had we started where we qualified, but in any case, I think we did the maximum that was possible and third place for me was more than enough."

Hamilton rejoined in 11th place after his pits setback and said: "I did the best job I could.

He added: "I got a really good start and was pretty happy to jump five places from ninth to fifth. I was pushing Mark (Webber) for a long time but being behind someone, no matter how quick you are, it's really difficult to get past.

"We were in a good position for a shot at third at least but then I had the problem in my first stop, which cost me a lot of time.

"I pushed very hard to get fourth, I really wanted that point and believed we could get it, but Jarno did a great job.

"Without the penalty, I believe we could have finished second but this is racing, those are the rules. We have to forward to the next race, we're still leading."

McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh agreed the problems in the pits denied Hamilton a much better result. "It did cost him a podium place definitely," Whitmarsh said.

Whitmarsh paid tribute to Hamilton's performance as, setbacks aside, he struggled all weekend to find enough grip around the 5.543km Sepang circuit to remain competitive.

"We saw vintage Lewis throughout the race," he added. "I think with the equipment we gave him here, he did a great job, and near the end he was pretty quick but he couldn't get there quick enough to take that place.

"The reality is I don't think we performed as strongly as we could have done. We under-performed, we know it's close (with Ferrari) and we have to do a better job next race." E-mail to a friend