Helsinki, Sept 22: Championship contender Kimi Raikkonen believes he can improve on his poor showing at Monza at this weekend's US Grand Prix. The Finn is seven points behind leader Michael Schumacher after finishing fourth in this month's Italian race.
Raikkonen said: "We are not at our strongest at Monza.
"But our car will be more suited to the Indianapolis track, and we should perform better there."
Raikkonen admits that at Indy he must close the points gap on Ferrari driver Schumacher and Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya, who is three points off the lead.
"I need to get a good result as we are now at such a crucial stage of the championship."
McLaren managing director Martin Whitmarsh added: "Team McLaren Mercedes arrives in America for the penultimate Grand Prix of the season still very much in contention for the drivers' championship with Kimi.
"Of course, following Monza this task has been made more difficult, but the championship remains finely balanced.
"We are now focusing on optimising our performances at both Indy and Suzuka, and more specifically in the short term on Kimi taking the best result possible at the Speedway, where we believe we will be more competitive."

Bureau Report