Kimi Raikkonen took fourth place for the Scuderia Ferrari squad at this weekend’s European Grand Prix in Baku, but the Finn was disappointed knowing that the result could have been far better.
The 2007 world champion was hit with a five second time penalty for running across the white lines at the pit lane entry when not actually pitting, an action the drivers had been advised was forbidden prior to the start of the race, and something the Finn felt at the time was a bit of a joke.
“Overall I’m a bit disappointed of how difficult this weekend was, far from being fun all the time, but in the race the car was good and the speed was there.
“At one point I ran over the white line and got a 5 seconds penalty. From that moment I tried to keep the gap to Perez to maintain my position, but on a couple of occasions I ended up following two lapped cars and lost precious time.
Having received the time penalty Raikkonen was asked to let team-mate Sebastian Vettel through, having been ahead of him on track at that point, which the Finn duly obliged under the circumstances.
“I’m fine with the fact of swapping position with Sebastian, because anyway I had the penalty, but in the moment I let him pass I lost 2.5 seconds in that lap and this did not help.
Raikkonen struggled with his tyres towards the end of the race, having endured a lengthy second stint on the soft rubber, as well as encountering an ERS problem late in the day as well, which put an end to any podium chances the Finn might have had. Considering the issues he experienced during the race however, Raikkonen was pleased with the result overall.
“In the end I could have for sure stayed in front of Perez but there was no reason to fight and maybe take some risks. Obviously my race could have been a different story today, but considering all that happened, the end the result is not too bad.”
