Breaking news
Formula 1 Bahrain GP
Raikkonen: “Awful” first lap masked improved race
Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen says his “awful” run through the first few corners of the Bahrain Grand Prix has served to overshadow what otherwise was a race with a lot of positives.
Valentin Khorounzhiy
Edited: Apr 16, 2017, 7:22 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Raikkonen, who qualified more than three tenths down on teammate Sebastian Vettel on Saturday, slipped from fifth on the grid to seventh early on.
As Vettel went on to win the grand prix, Raikkonen eventually recovered to fourth – and the Finn says he was happy with the behaviour of his SF70H in the race, even despite the "disappointing" outcome.
Raikkonen finished over 22 seconds behind Vettel.
"I think the car was working pretty nicely and, to be honest, I expected that. Not much complaints on that side," he said.
"[I had a] sh*t start and then an awful first few corners because of that. Obviously, after that, played catch-up...
"A lot of good things, in a way, happened but obviously the end result is still disappointing, in my book at least.
"Overall feeling [is] a lot better and I feel that I can go fast but obviously the start didn't help."
Raikkonen, who was stuck behind the Williams of Felipe Massa early on but got the move done on the eighth lap, feels he was then unfortunate to end up behind the Brazilian again thanks to the timing of the safety car.
"I got reasonably quickly past Massa - then I was a bit unlucky with the safety car and lost a place again back and then tried to get past him again, and obviously at that point I was a bit behind," he said.
"He [Massa] seemed to be very fast in certain places and already first time around was quite tricky to pass him, it felt a bit more difficult the second time.
"I managed to pass him in the end but it just takes a long time, they're usually very fast in a straight line, Williams."
Summing up the race, Raikkonen added: "The first lap obviously was not the ideal position, and the safety car... it's unfortunate how it went, we had some good speed."
Additional reporting by Ben Anderson
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Sainz gets three-place grid penalty for Russia
Next article Ricciardo "geniunely thought" Red Bull could win
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Valentin Khorounzhiy
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
WTCR
WTCR
Hungaroring
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
General
General
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
More from
Kimi Raikkonen
David Coulthard explains why Robin Raikkonen's rise resembles Max Verstappen's
Formula 1
Formula 1
Spanish GP
David Coulthard explains why Robin Raikkonen's rise resembles Max Verstappen's
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Red Bull signs Kimi Raikkonen’s son as junior driver
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
Red Bull signs Kimi Raikkonen’s son as junior driver
More from
Ferrari
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Latest news
Why the anticlimactic WEC title showdown was the worst-case scenario
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
18 min
Why the anticlimactic WEC title showdown was the worst-case scenario
How Istanbul is revamping its F1 circuit to clinch long-term future
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Turkish GP
1 h
How Istanbul is revamping its F1 circuit to clinch long-term future
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 18 h
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 18 h
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe