Formula 1

Kimi Raikkonen: “The car has been handling well all weekend”

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Kimi Raikkonen - Credit: Octane Photographic Ltd

It was a tricky day for Kimi Raikkonen as the Finn qualified sixth for the Austrian Grand Prix, although the Finn will start fourth after the penalties are applied to Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel.

The Scuderia Ferrari driver admitted it was a tricky choice whether to stay on the intermediate Pirelli tyre or switch to the slicks, but made the correct choice to jump onto the Ultrasoft, although he was disappointed to end up only sixth.

Raikkonen feels the team have shown good pace throughout the weekend so far at the Red Bull Ring in all conditions, and is looking for a good race on Sunday.

“Today a lot of things happened,” said Raikkonen. “In Q3 the rain came, but by the end of the session the track was drying up, so it was difficult to know if it was ready for dry or wet tires.

“When the conditions got a bit tricky, we did not get it right because of many little things and did not manage to put a good lap together when it mattered. It is a bit disappointing to finish sixth, I felt there was more to come, but with the guys in front being penalized it’s not too bad.

“The car has been handling well all weekend, in dry and wet conditions and we had the speed, so I expect it will be ok. Tomorrow it will be a difficult day for everybody, the conditions will dictate a lot how long the tires will last, it will be a key point. We’ll try to do a lot better than today.”

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