Kimi Räikkönen admitted it was a difficult Azerbaijan Grand Prix for him after being forced to start from the pit lane for Sunday’s race after a misdemeanour by his team saw him disqualified from Qualifying.
The Alfa Romeo Racing driver had qualified inside the top ten on Saturday but was relegated to pit lane after the front wing of his C38-Ferrari failed a deflection test and was at the back of the field with fellow pit lane starters Robert Kubica and Pierre Gasly when the lights went out.
He gambled on pitting as early as the eighth lap to switch from the soft Pirelli tyre to the medium tyre but struggled thereafter, although he was able to climb into the points, ironically thanks to the retirement of Gasly, who had taken his Red Bull Racing car up to sixth before its driveshaft failed.
Räikkönen had been expecting more from his weekend at the Baku City Circuit but believes the next round on the calendar, the Spanish Grand Prix, will be an easier affair for everyone at Alfa Romeo.
“Not an easy weekend for us,” said Räikkönen. “Wasn’t the plan to start from the pit lane but it is what it is, so one point is kind of the maximum we could achieve today.
“We pitted earlier to get out of the traffic but then I struggled for the whole race with switching the tyres on. Bit disappointed as I was expecting a lot more but I have the feeling that the next race will be easier for us.”
