Raikkonen keen to see test work come to fruition.

McLaren-Mercedes driver, Kimi Raikkonen is eager to get out on track at the San Marino GP this coming weekend, to see the impact of the latest modifications to the MP4-21.

Raikkonen has had a somewhat trying season to date and while he has managed to notch up 14 points and has had two podium finishes, the car has again been rather fragile. Following two tests in the last three weeks though, the latest at the Circuit de Catalunaya near Barcelona, the Finn is optimistic about his chances.

"We had a solid session at the test in Barcelona last week, we were able to complete the MP4-21 development work planned for the session and continue the progress made by Pedro [de la Rosa] and Gary [Paffett] at the Paul Ricard test the week before," he noted. "It will be good to see how the modifications will be on the race track."

As for the Imola circuit itself, one of the most important factors is to be able to attack the kerbs. Something that is essential if you want to be on the pace and setting quick times.

"The biggest factors at Imola are hard braking and acceleration, because of all the chicanes and the short straights in between them. This also means that performance of traction, braking and braking stability is key for this race. To get quick lap times at Imola, you have to really attack the kerbs and because they are so high, probably more so than at most tracks, we have to keep the car quite soft so it rides the kerbs well," he added.

"The best place to overtake at Imola would be the Tosa hairpin, both under braking and also exiting, and you also tend to see a lot of cars running wide providing more opportunities."