Early pace-setter Kimi Raikkonen says traffic cost him the chance to claim pole-position for the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Raikkonen’s lap time of 1:28.101 wasn’t enough to stop his team-mate Sebastian Vettel from claiming Scuderia Ferrari‘s first pole of the year. While Raikkonen’s first run in Q3 saw him at the top of the time sheets, the Finn says his final run was compromised by traffic.
“My last run was far from perfect; there was traffic and we couldn’t improve,” said Raikkonen. “We did not give ourselves a proper chance to do the best we could.
“The car had a lot of speed, but we did not take full advantage of that. I’m sure there was a lot more to come.
“Anyway, we start the race in a good position, so I’m a bit disappointed today but that’s how it goes.”
Kimi hints at a challenge for victory against his team-mate in the race and points to tyre preservation as a key element.
“Tomorrow is another day and we should have a good car; we hope for a better result. The key point will be tyre management; it will be tricky for everybody.
“We’ll try to make the best of it, and I’ll go as fast as I can”.
