MISCEPY

Raikkonen, Hamilton renew rivalry in season opener

Agence France-Presse
MELBOURNE - World champion Kimi Raikkonen and title runner-up Lewis Hamilton are expected to fight out Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix as Ferrari and McLaren reignite their fierce rivalry.
The taciturn Finn, known as "The Iceman", swept to the F1 title in his first season as Ferrari's No.1 driver in the last race in Brazil, pipping Hamilton by one point in a controversial 2007 season dominated by the "Spygate" scandal.
Hamilton was on track to land the drivers crown in his first season in Formula One for McLaren, before he faltered in the last two GPs for Raikkonen to seize Ferrari's 15th drivers and constructors title.
Pre-season testing indicates that Ferrari and McLaren are superior on times and set to dominate early practice sessions ahead of Sunday's opener over 305 kilometers around the Albert Park street circuit.
Ferrari have won six of the last nine Australian GPs, while Raikkonen posted three of the fastest laps in the race driving previously for McLaren in an era that was dominated by Ferrari's Michael Schumacher.
Seven-time world champion Schumacher believes this season will once again be dominated by either his old team Ferrari or McLaren.
McLaren are still paying for the ramifications of the "Spygate" scandal, with inquiries ongoing into how a 780-page Ferrari dossier was discovered at the home of McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan last season.
McLaren were fined 50 million pounds and stripped of all their points in the constructors championship by the sport's governing body, FIA, after they were found guilty of being in possession of leaked technical information.
In the fall-out at McLaren, dual world champion Fernando Alonso returned to Renault after a fractious relationship with Hamilton -- while Ferrari surged from behind for an unexpected title win.
"I believe we are going to Melbourne with a competitive car," Raikkonen said this week. "The tests in the winter went really well and we did everything possible.
"The F2008 is a step forward from the car we had last year. The team has done a great job, especially in the areas where we weren't strong, like the behavior through slow corners and over the curbs.
"We should be strong in every situation, although you never know for sure."
Hamilton, who won four GPs and was on the podium in eight other races last season, says he is more determined to take this year's championship after his stellar debut season.
"I want to win even more," he said this week. "I think I'm more confident, and the team I have behind me are stronger and I know what I want."
"There were many, many lessons from last season. But a major lesson was learning to deal with the pressure, learning to deal with being consistent, the importance of finishing high up and scoring points every race."
Alonso has admitted his Renault team is likely to be in for a long wait before it becomes competitive again.
The Spaniard, who won his two world titles with Renault in 2005/06, said the French outfit was too far behind to make up much ground this year.
"The team was far behind in 2007 and it would have been impossible to overcome that gap this winter," Alonso said.
"The other teams have also progressed and so it will certainly take a little time to reach a higher level, but I am convinced that we have the potential to get there.
"The team has shown in the past that they know how to produce a winning car. We just need to continue our efforts and to make sure we don't lose ground."
The Australian GP is also having problems of its own, with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone threatening to take the race offshore after 2010 if organizers don't agree to night racing in order to suit television viewing hours in Europe.