WHO'S UNDER PRESSURE?

[davewilson]

Kimi Raikkonen
I'm constantly surprised at the number of drivers and engineers in the paddock who don't rate Kimi Raikkonen.

None of them have ever worked with him, of course - you only hear high praise from those who have - but some feel he's been over-hyped.

He's quick over one lap and sometimes over a race distance, say his critics, but he has moments of brain fade (crashing into Liuzzi in Hungary last year) and thrashes the car too hard.

This last point is a little unfair as Kimi has had to put up with too many McLaren systems failing on him over the years, and they're not all his fault.

So to silence the doubters and to confirm that he's just as good as Fernando Alonso, Kimi's challenge this year is simple: He must win the championship.

Doing this will prove he's quicker and more consistent than Felipe Massa (which won't be easy given the Brazilian's form towards the end of '06) and will also confirm whether he has been able to slot straight into the gap left by Michael Schumacher.

Raikkonen is off to a good start - he has been assigned Michael's whole pit crew - mechanics, tyre technicians and race engineer Chris Dyer will give him great support.

Things would've been easier had Ross Brawn still been around, but the loss of the big man is something everyone in the Ferrari race team will just have to live with.

Raikkonen's title winning credentials are surely solid - but if Massa or Alonso beat him to it, and it is Kimi's fault, those doubting voices will get louder and louder.