Jul.16 (GMM) Following a few near misses for the reigning world champion, Kimi Raikkonen is eager to return to the top of the podium at the end of this weekend's German grand prix.



The Ferrari driver shares the lead of the 2008 championship with his teammate as well as Lewis Hamilton, but if not for strategy errors (Silverstone), a broken exhaust (Magny-Cours) and a pitlane crash (Montreal), he surely would have collected yet more points.



Raikkonen, 28, said ahead of the forthcoming Hockenheim event: "We really need to win this one."



Many insiders are predicting another strong outing for Ferrari's title rival McLaren, but Ferrari also looked competitive at last week's Hockenheim test.



"I had such a good feeling with the car. I believe both the car and the driver are top fit for this weekend," Raikkonen said.



"I've been in a position to win the last three grands prix, but for various reasons things did not go my way. But that's racing and I'm sure the wins will soon come again," he added.



Raikkonen is also hoping weather reports that predict rain in Germany this weekend are not accurate.



"Obviously, for us, the hot weather suits fine. Our car prefers the hot temperatures," he said.