But Raikkonen, who has proved to be the sensation of the campaign in scoring nine points for Sauber following just 23 car races before his grand prix debut, believes he will not have any problems.

‘‘I won’t be out of my depth,’’ said Raikkonen, who will partner Scotland’s David Coulthard after countryman Hakkinen decided to take a break from racing.

‘‘For sure, there will be a lot of pressure and expectation on me. But there was a lot of pressure on me to prove myself in Formula One this year, and I have done that. I don’t think next year will be any bigger pressure.’’

Sauber’s decision to promote Raikkonen from Formula Renault to the toughest race series of all did cause concern, with motor sport boss Max Mosley questioning whether the Espoo-born driver had enough experience.

But Raikkonen has not looked back since finishing sixth on his debut in Melbourne last March and has impressed a host of his fellow drivers, including Hakkinen, who has taken the youngster under his wing.

‘‘We’ve already seen that Kimi can handle the driving,’’ said Hakkinen.

‘‘Everybody handles pressure differently, but Kimi has handled the pressure from the start of the season extremely well.

‘‘We haven’t sat down to talk about it yet, but I will be helping Kimi. I have plenty of experience with the team and in Formula One in general, so there is a lot of help I can give.’’