Survey says Massa to beat Raikkonen in '07

Felipe Massa has emerged as a dark horse to win the world championship in 2007.

A survey of the Italian magazine 'AutoMotoSport' revealed in a survey that seven out of ten leading grand prix personalities think reigning champion Fernando Alonso will triumph in his first season for McLaren this year.

But the three remaining F1 figures - Bernie Ecclestone, Jean Alesi and even Ferrari's Stefano Domenicali - think Brazilian Massa will have the upper hand on his highly rated new teammate Kimi Raikkonen and emerge with the coveted crown.

Indeed, Raikkonen hinted at his trouble to adapt to the red racer at Jerez this week when he answered "not really" to a question about whether his driving style suited the new control tyres.

Racer magazine quoted F1 supremo Ecclestone as saying: "I wouldn't like to put my money on anybody, but I think if I had to, I would probably put it on Massa."

"You've got to have a whole package, it's not just the driver but a package."

Source: GMM