McLaren to Tether Prancing Horse

Kimi Raikkonen's victory in the Belgian grand prix, where he beat Michael Schumacher fair and square, confirmed his status as the driver the world champion fears most.

In a race interrupted by three spells of slow running behind the safety car, Raikkonen knew that Schumacher's Bridgestone tyres took longer to warm up than his McLaren's Michelins and so he led the pack as slowly as possible around to the startline each time before sprinting to a 10-length lead.

"A tremendous result for the team. It was particularly satisfying when taking into account the safety car deployment on three occasions," said Ron Dennis, the McLaren chairman. "Kimi's fastest lap on the penultimate lap was sensational."

Raikkonen's success was also proof positive that the heavily revised McLaren-Mercedes MP4-19B, which was only introduced at last month's French grand prix, is a fine-handling chassis powered by a much stronger engine than its immediate predecessor.

McLaren now believe they can maintain their momentum through the final four races to challenge Schumacher consistently and build the foundations for a serious challenge in 2005.

However, Dennis is deeply concerned that some of the new technical regulations on the table for 2005 will continue to play into the hands of Ferrari, most notably the requirement for engines to be used for two races before they can be changed and the widely criticised idea of making one set of tyres last over a grand prix distance.