Raikkonen feels he has nothing to lose

It was a toss-up who had the better vantage point, Jenson Button, serving the first of his two-race ban in front of a TV screen, or Fernando Alonso, 25 seconds behind.

Either way, the sight of Kimi Raikkonen disappearing over the Barcelona horizon could not have made comfortable viewing for either.

You might not want to sit next to Raikkonen at dinner unless, of course, you have an appetite for lap dancing, but his lack of eloquence out of the car is no impediment in it.

Raikkonen’s third career win, a crushing victory delivered unopposed from pole, was greeted with the words: ?It won’t change my life.?

When asked about his exchange with King Juan Carlos before the race, the best Raikkonen could muster was: ?He seems a nice king.? As long as actions speak louder than words, Raikkonen will be in business.

With the McLaren performing as it did Sunday, that might develop into a serious concern for Alonso, and a pain in the neck for Button, who in the depth of his despair last Friday consoled himself with the idea that his BAR would be on the money when he returns to racing at the Nur-burgring at the end of the month.

It will need to be. Raikkonen’s win was coming.

Denied by a faulty drive shaft while leading the San Marino GP a fortnight ago, his revamped McLaren was as flawless as the Barcelona skies.

A crowd of 115,000 who came to salute the rising star of Spanish sport left saluting the supernova from Finland.

Alonso used Renault’s early-season hegemony to build a comfortable lead at the top of the drivers’ championship. He was 20 seconds ahead of third-placed Jarno Trulli Sunday, suggesting there is enough in hand to absorb a challenge from the pack in the season’s second phase, especially as Michael Schumacher failed to finish.

Nevertheless, if Raikkonen can add luck to the more tangible qualities available to him, this season will have drama in it yet.

Renault do not have McLaren’s resources. The ability of the French team to respond to the gauntlet thrown down by Raikkonen in Spain is limited by a budget only two thirds the size.

By the time we reach the wire in China, Alonso is unlikely to be sitting on a 27-point cushion, the margin he takes to the season’s blue riband event in Monaco next week.

?We have nothing to lose any more. We need to win races and see where we end up. It will be difficult, but it’s a long season,? Raikkonen said. ?This was just one win. We need more of them.?

A win is a win, of course, but in Barcelona victory is often significant. A car that goes well here tends to prosper universally, as Raikkonen acknowledged. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH