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Raikkonen plays down advantage

Kimi Raikkonen says his victory at the opening round of the season will not change his approach to the season and has warned against drawing any conclusions about the title race until after the first two or three races.

Raikkonen took an emphatic victory in Australia last weekend, making use of his car's ability to look after its tyres to cross the line over ten seconds clear of the rest of the field. But despite his strong start, Raikkonen said he is not expecting to have it all his own way this year.

"It feels good but it's only after one race," he said. "It doesn't really change our aim and how we approach this year. Definitely, we are happy with the win but there is an awful lot to still to do to win the championship. We seemed to have a good car in Albert Park, so hopefully it works well in the next races also."

Raikkonen is hoping his car performs just as well in the humid heat of Malaysia, but is wary of reading too much into the pecking order until a few more races have taken place.

"It's a difference place, it's going to be much hotter there so it's very difficult to say how the cars will feel, who will be fastest after having done just one race. I think we have to do two or three races before we really know who is where and what's going to happen.

"It's probably going to rain again in Malaysia at some point but it will be a different circuit, different conditions. Our car worked well in Australia and usually - at least last year - in hot conditions it's been good for us so hopefully it will turn out to be a good weekend."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.