Older drivers will cope with new cars better - Arnall

Mark Arnall, trainer of Kimi Raikkonen, thinks that the more experienced drivers on the grid will cope with the new cars better this season than "the younger generation".

F1's regulations take a change this year, with much more downforce being added to the cars. This will in turn enforce more G-Force on the drivers, who have been training furiously over the winter to prepare.

"The younger generation have not experienced these G-forces before," he told Finland's Turun Sanomat. "But for Kimi and also Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, the situation is not completely new.

"In 2005 and 2006, the strain on the neck muscles in particular was extreme," said Arnall. "In the last few years, the physical requirement has been lower, but Kimi's programme didn't really change. Of course it has changed again now, so I don't see any reason why Kimi should have any difficulty with these cars."

Fergal Walsh