Kimi Raikkonen is anxious to go one better than he did in Germany when he takes part in this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

Raikkonen, from the Ens-tone-based Lotus team, finished second to championship leader Sebastian Vettel at the Nurburgring, with teammate Romain Gros-jean third, and he is determined to finish on top of the podium at the Hungaroring.

With four second-place finishes and one victory in Hungary, the Finn, who is third in the race for the title, 41 points behind Vettel, knows what’s needed for a strong weekend in Budapest.

“I have finished second in Hungary too many times, so I know how important it is to lead the race after the first corner,” said Raikkonen.

“DRS or not, it’s never easy to overtake at the Hungaroring.

“To get the weekend right, you have to have good sessions in FP1, FP2 and FP3, then a strong qualifying session and finally a perfect start to the race.

“It is always nice to go to Hungary.

“The circuit is not the most difficult of them all, but it is a really challenging venue as it’s usually very hot.

“Of course, the heat has helped us with the car so far this year so that will make things better, but only if it’s a win will you not suffer from the heat.

“It’s such a slow, twisty circuit, so two things are really important there; good turn-in and good traction.

“If you have those, you have a strong car.”

He added: “Obviously, you need to get to the front in the qualifying, but also avoid the dirty side of the track on the grid because its is a real disadvantage in the starts.”

Grosjean said: “Taking third in Germany was great, so I certainly have a positive feeling heading to Hungary.

“It was a great result for the team and we had a very strong race. “We’re very keen to keep up maintain the momentum from that good result.”

Team principal Eric Bou-llier said a repeat of the team’s performance in Ger-many would do very nicely.

“If we can continue that push and refine the car we should be well placed for the second half of the season,” he said.

“Elsewhere, we’ve certainly had the potential for good results, so there is no panic.

“Germany showed what can happen when everything goes well and seeing both drivers on the podium – especially when both were fighting for the race win at different points of the race – was especially rewarding.”