Highlights

Motor racing-Raikkonen ends his Hockenheim jinx

(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-07-31 08:55

HOCKENHEIM, Germany, July 30 - McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen ended his Hockenheim jinx on Sunday, thankful that this time his car caught fire only after he had crossed the line in third place.

In five starts at the German Grand Prix, engine partner Mercedes's home circuit, the Finn had retired five times -- while leading the race in the last two years.

On Sunday he led for 10 laps from pole position before a familiar sequence misfortune and mechanical problems pushed him down the field.

This time he was able to fight on, however, overtaking Honda's Jenson Button nine laps from the finish to storm the podium.

In his first pit stop, a crossed wheel nut held up his progress. He then suffered from blistering rear tyres before an hydraulics problem caused another headache.

At the finish, a heat shield caught fire as he slowed.

"The car was behaving really badly and I wasn't getting full power and the gearshifting was all over the place," said Raikkonen.

"Looking at those things, we are happy to finish third."

Last year, Raikkonen retired with an hydraulics failure while leading.

The year before he went out with a rear wing failure and in 2003 he was caught up in a three-car collision at the first corner.

"We had a pretty eventful afternoon really," said McLaren managing director Martin Whitmarsh.

He said the crossed thread had probably cost three or four seconds while the hydraulic leak forced the team to turn off various systems on the car.

"That effectively took away from Kimi differential control and various other facets of control on the car which made it very difficult for him to drive," he said.