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WILLIAMS-BMW's Juan Pablo Montoya doesn't feel that the hype surrounding McLaren Mercedes' young prodigy Kimi Raikkonen is affecting him.
"I made a mistake in Melbourne with the spin. But there were still some good points out of it. I think Ferrari are still strong but we have a chance to do well in Sepang on Sunday," said Montoya, who was the 1999 Cart series champion before moving into the Williams BMW seat alongside Ralf Schumacher.
WILLIAMS-BMW's Juan Pablo Montoya doesn't feel that the hype surrounding McLaren Mercedes' young prodigy Kimi Raikkonen is affecting him.
Montoya, 28, who finished third in the Formula One drivers championship last year, has already started the season ahead of 24- year old Finn Raikkonen and says he is capable of beating the latter at Sepang this weekend.
"He's a good driver and we've bumped into each other a few times on the track. But I'm just concentrating on what I can do and it looks like we've got a decent chance this weekend," said Montoya.
Montoya was speaking at the launch of lubricant supplier Castrol's service otlet in Sungai Buloh, Selangor yesterday.
In the Press conference that followed, Montoya said he felt the spin while leading the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne two weeks ago was costly as he missed out on the two extra points which eventually went to McLaren's David Coulthard.
Raikkonen was third behind Montoya in that race and world champion, Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, fourth.
"I made a mistake in Melbourne with the spin. But there were still some good points out of it. I think Ferrari are still strong but we have a chance to do well in Sepang on Sunday," said Montoya, who was the 1999 Cart series champion before moving into the Williams BMW seat alongside Ralf Schumacher.
"We have historically always been really quick here. Sepang is a very smooth track and last year, we had our first and only one-two finish. I think the hot weather should suit our package, especially our tyres and with the improvements Michelin has made,"
"I'm not concerned about the rain even though I prefer good weather on race day," he said.
A lion's welcome: Williams-BMW's Juan Pablo Montoya greeted by a lion dance at the Castrol Branded Workshop yesterday. On his right is wife Connie.-By Khalid Redza.
Copyright New Straits Times Press, Ltd. Mar 20, 2003