Despite qualifying fifth on the grid for the United States Grand Prix on Saturday, Kimi Raikkonen was far from happy with the result of the session, especially when the gap to those at the front of the grid is assessed.
The Scuderia Ferrari driver ended the session 1.132 seconds down on the pole position time of Lewis Hamilton, and admitted that the reality of the situation was that the Italian team are just not fast enough at the Circuit of the Americas.
“Obviously we cannot be pleased with where we finished today, looking at the time difference to the front,” revealed Raikkonen. “We did what we could, but our position on the grid is far from ideal. This is the reality today and now we have to be stronger in the race.
“Yesterday we struggled a bit to find the right set up: we changed small things here and there and today the handling of the car was pretty good. We lack speed in the lap and to go faster we need more overall grip.”
Raikkonen hopes the race on Sunday will be a better affair, and is aiming to move forward from his grid spot as he aims for his first podium finish since the Austrian Grand Prix in July.
“Tomorrow is going to be a long race, the long run was not too bad, so I expect the car we had today to be better tomorrow,” said Raikkonen. “For sure we are going to do our best and hopefully we are going to have a strong race.”
