Raikkonen hits out at 'stupid' Hamilton.

Kimi Raikkonen has insisted he does not feel angry at the incident that so unceremoniously removed him from the Canadian Grand Prix, even if he admitted that Lewis Hamilton running into the back of him in the pit-lane had been 'a bit stupid'.

The two drivers - widely perceived to be the favourites to battle it out for Formula 1 World Championship glory this year - were running first and third in the early stages of the race around Montreal's demanding Circuit Gillles Villeneuve, Hamilton ahead and BMW-Sauber's Robert Kubica in-between.

Kimi Raikkonen has insisted he does not feel angry at the incident that so unceremoniously removed him from the Canadian Grand Prix, even if he admitted that Lewis Hamilton running into the back of him in the pit-lane had been 'a bit stupid'.

The two drivers - widely perceived to be the favourites to battle it out for Formula 1 World Championship glory this year - were running first and third in the early stages of the race around Montreal's demanding Circuit Gillles Villeneuve, Hamilton ahead and BMW-Sauber's Robert Kubica in-between.

After the pack was all shuffled together on lap 18 when the safety car put in an appearance to help clear away Adrian Sutil's broken down Force India, the leaders entered the pit-lane en masse, with both Kubica and Raikkonen getting the jump on the erstwhile race leader. On exiting his pit box, however, Hamilton appeared not to notice that the Ferrari and BMW were stopped at the end of the pit-lane with the red light on, and by the time he did realise it was too late, the McLaren braking but still slewing into the back of scarlet machine - and putting both drivers instantly out of contention.

"There's not much I can say," a phlegmatic Raikkonen admitted afterwards. "My race was ruined by Hamilton's mistake. I might not be the best person to say you shouldn't hit anybody because in the last race in Monaco I made a mistake, but it's one thing to be going 300km/h on the circuit, lose control and hit somebody and another to be going down the pit-lane with a speed limit, not look in front of you and hit a car stopped at a red light. That's a bit stupid.

"I am not angry, because that doesn't achieve anything and does not change my result. I am unhappy, because I had a great chance of winning. Once the graining had gone from the tyres, the car was going very well.

"I have failed to score in these last two races and now it's time to start winning again. There is still a long way to go in the championship and it is still very close, and we have everything we need to regain the ground we have lost."

Indeed, following his failure to finish in Monaco too, Raikkonen has slipped from the top spot in the championship down to fourth position, and knowing he needs points in France in a fortnight's time to haul himself back up into the title fight once more. He will at least be aided there by his Canadian assailant having to begin the race in Magny-Cours ten places lower than he qualifies, a penalty imposed by the stewards for his embarrassing Montreal indiscretion.

"Before my pit-stop, everything looked on-course for the perfect result," Hamilton acknowledged. "We were so quick, we were breezing it in fact, but it wasn't a great pit-stop and, as I exited the box, I saw two cars jostling for position ahead of me in the pit-lane.

"Obviously, I didn't want to get involved in their tussle, and was trying not to do so, and then all of a sudden they stopped. By the time they'd come to a halt, it was too late for me to avoid them.

"It's just unfortunate when stuff like this happens, but I have no argument with the stewards. We'd looked so strong for the whole weekend though, so at least we can leave Montreal confident that we have a package that will enable us to fight for the world championship from here on in."

The two teams' respective bosses also unsurprisingly had rather different view points on the incident - one that, with BMW and Kubica now having added race-winning pedigree to their already laudable consistency - could prove costly come season's end. Ferrari termed Hamilton's faux pas 'a serious mistake', whilst McLaren brushed it off as 'just one of those things'.

"There is much for us to regret about the outcome of this race," rued the Scuderia's team principal Stefano Domenicali. "We saw one of our drivers retire because he was hit when stopped at the exit of the pit-lane in front of the red light.

"It was a serious mistake from Hamilton and I think the penalty imposed by the FIA is in-line with it, even if it does not restore what was a lost opportunity for us. In fact, Kimi was in an excellent position to fight for the win, partly thanks to a car which showed it was running at a great pace.

"I speak of regret, but I would add that it is today's disappointment that actually strengthens our desire to fight back. We know there is still a long season ahead of us up against very strong opponents and so we say congratulations to BMW and Kubica for their first victory, but we are also aware of our own strengths that are a match for anyone."

"Obviously, for a team that exists to win today was a very disappointing day," added McLaren team principal Ron Dennis, "but the fact is that we had the pace and therefore the capability to win, which is of course encouraging.

"The collision that eliminated Lewis was just one of those things. No racing driver would deliberately put himself out of a grand prix, and the plain fact is that Lewis didn't realise that the cars in front of him were coming to a halt until too late.

"It's difficult for a driver to decide whether to focus on the lights or on the cars ahead in situations like that. Having said that, we accept the stewards' decision and together as a team we'll build on the disappointment of Canada 2008."

Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Vice-President Norbert Haug, meanwhile, succinctly summed the day up as: "A race to quickly forget."

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