Raikkonen: Rain won't handicap Ferrari.

Kimi Raikkonen set the pace Friday during practice for this Sunday's Italian Grand Prix and then declared that he is confident the Scuderia will be competitive whatever the conditions.

Although variable weather meant running was severely hampered in FP1, and Kimi only did 5 laps, the 'ice-man' had no complaints about his F2008 and boosted by a new deal that will see him stay with Ferrari until the end of 2010, he is determined to try and get his championship challenge back on track, starting by taking pole.

Speaking following the second practice session, in which he did 31 laps and posted the quickest time, he added that everything is going in the right direction for him to be able to run at the front.

"I am pleased with how today went. Step by step, the car finally seems to respond well and I think we can be very quick here," he stated. "The set-up is good and I don't think that any rain that might fall will represent a handicap.

"I will try and do my best, as always. We are moving in the right direction. I am sure the results will come very soon."

Felipe Massa meanwhile had to settle for the sixth best time in FP2 in the other F2008 and while he was less happy with his car, he wasn't too disheartened.

"I'm not 100 per cent happy with the way things went today. I struggled a bit to find the right grip level on the first timed lap, unlike the others. So, this means we still have to work to get it right, but I am still confident," he explained. "It all looks very close and we must always take into account the unknown regarding how much fuel everyone has run."

"Clearly, today's work was limited by the weather, which was particularly bad this morning," summed-up Ferrari technical director, Luca Baldisserri. "Only when there was less than an hour to go to the chequered flag were we able to run in the dry and then the track conditions were very different to those at the test.

"We are reasonably satisfied with what we have seen though, because the F2008 has confirmed it is competitive, even on an unusual circuit like Monza. The forecast for the rest of the weekend is not good and so it was useful to be able to get some reference points as to how the car works also on a wet track."