Raikkonen says he wasn't informed that plan for final Q1 run had been changed; Finn now hoping to pick up places on first lap of Sunday's race
Saturday 20 June 2015 16:48, UK
Kimi Raikkonen has blamed Ferrari for his early exit during qualifying for the Austrian GP, with the Finn saying he was sent out too late during the closing stages of the first session.
Raikkonen’s qualifying performances have been in the spotlight all season thanks to a series of disappointing grid slots. But what he himself described as a “bad habit” seemed to have been kicked at the last round in Canada, where he qualified third.
However, Raikkonen’s Saturday woes returned with a vengeance at the Red Bull Ring, where he dropped out at the first hurdle after outpacing only the Manors on a track that was drying out after morning rain.
The 2007 world champion tumbled down the order as other drivers improved their laptimes and said afterwards that Ferrari had failed to communicate to him how they wanted to change their run-plan as the clock ticked down.
“I never got the information and then we messed it up completely. I was basically doing the normal thing and not told the plan had changed,” he explained. “The point is they sent me out too late and this is what happened.”
Asked what information he had been given over the radio, Raikkonen replied: “To do three timed laps and obviously they noticed at some point that we went out too late.
“That was the plan as I was told, but it was a mistake on some point and they said it was too late now. The plan changed.”
Although he set the 18th fastest time, Raikkonen will actually start in 14th place owing to penalties for the Red Bull and McLaren cars.
Still, with team-mate Sebastian Vettel again starting right behind the Mercedes at the front, Raikkonen was left frustrated by his grid slot. But the 35-year-old thinks there will be chances to fight his way through the field – particularly on lap one.
“Obviously it’s not ideal. We should be much higher up and fighting near the front but we’ll try to do our best," he said.
“There are long straights but also two very tricky two corners to be in the middle of the pack so there are much bigger chances of something happening in the first two corners. We’ll try to stay clear of it and then you never know what happens in the race.”
Don’t miss Sky Sports F1’s exclusively live coverage of the 2015 Austrian GP. The race begins at 1pm on Sunday, with build-up underway from 11.30am. No Sky Sports? No problem! Watch the Austrian GP for £6.99 with NOW TV
