Kimi Raikkonen was pleased with the pace of the car but struggled from a low starting position after receiving a penalty for a gearbox penalty, which had dropped him from his third placed qualifying position to eighth on the grid.
The Scuderia Ferrari driver finished in fifth place ahead of Red Bull Racing‘s Daniel Ricciardo, which was positive for the Constructors Championship as the two teams battle for second place behind Mercedes.
“After a good qualifying yesterday, the issue with the gearbox and the consequent starting position change was not ideal in this kind of track. Obviously there’s a lot of disappointment, as we had a good car and if we could have stayed in front we would have fought with more free air and with a lot of speed.”
Ferrari strong race pace allowed Raikkonen to overtake the Sahara Force India’s and Williams’, and while the challenge from the Red Bull was strong, the Finnish driver showed excellent pace in clear air to jump Ricciardo.
“I had a good start but then I got stuck behind other people: it was really tricky to follow other cars and it affected quite a bit the behaviour. It was also difficult to stay close to them and attack them.
“Once we got past them and I was on my own, the car was quick and handling well. For sure today we were fast enough for a better result. Unfortunately, that’s how it goes…”
