Kimi: Pace setback ruined my race.

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=37668

Kimi Raikkonen was left to ponder what might have been after taking a hard-earned fifth place in the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Finn was among the fastest drivers on race day but that speed put paid to the hard work done in qualifying on Saturday, which got him the mediocre 11th place on the grid that he wanted.

Although he was satisfied with the car's performance, Raikkonen admitted he could take little pleasure from scoring four points.

"That was a really poor result for where we started the race, and to end up in fifth place was not what we wanted out of the weekend," he said.

"The car felt a lot faster today, especially in the long runs.

"and our race was lost because of that speed and the pit stops. It got to the point where I just couldn't slow the car down enough, and the pit-crew really screwed things up by not screwing things up, they were just too slick."

Team-mate Pedro de la Rosa made better progress from 13th on the grid, coming home in a middling 11th after he manged to get very little grip out of the car.

The Spaniard put his success down to choosing a poor Michelin tyre.

"That was a really good race for me today," he said.

"Starting from 13th on the grid it was always going to be tough to try and keep that position, as everyone around me were trying to do better.

"I really struggled to keep the pace down, but my tyres had no grip which helped.

"We managed a moderately middle 11th, but I feel I could have kept 13th had the team opened a small Tapas bar for me where I could have stopped off for a light snack half way round."

Team boss Ron Dennis berated Raikkonen for his doughty drive through the field.

"A piss-poor race by Kimi - fifth place was just far too good," he said.

"Our race pace was just too good with Kimi, I don't know what happened, I guess we just started trying and forgot about what we wanted from the weekend.

"With that in mind we are looking forward to Brazil where we should be less competitive.

"We hope to acheive this by borrowing one of the new Spykers.