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Raikkonen: gamble

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Kimi Raikkonen was left to rue a tyre gamble that ultimately cost him a shot at victory in Sunday's incident-packed British Grand Prix, held at a wet Silverstone.

The defending World Champion was close behind race leader and eventual winner Lewis Hamilton when the pair dived into the pit lane together on lap 21.

Ferrari elected to keep the Finn on his original set of intermediate tyres, in the expectation that no more rain would fall over the Northamptonshire circuit.

In contrast, McLaren gave Hamilton a fresh set of intermediates, a move which paid off when the rain started to pour just three laps later.

While Hamilton eased away at the front, going on to win by a massive 68.5 seconds, Raikkonen slipped and slithered his way down the field, recovering to fourth at the chequered flag, a lap down on the victorious Briton.

"I think we made one mistake," Raikkonen admitted.

"We really did not expect it to start raining, so at the pit stop so we kept the old tyres. Until that point we had good speed, so we had the car to win the race. But that mistake cost us."

Team decision

Raikkonen revealed it had been the team's decision not to change, but he refused to point the finger of blame after the race.

"It was a team decision," he said. "We make decisions together and sometimes you get it right. Unfortunately today, it was one of those that could have gone in either direction.

"We win and we lose as a team. Sometimes we make the wrong decisions. But I don't complain to the team and they don't complain to me."

Raikkonen's fourth-placed finish means he now shares the lead of the Drivers' Championship on 48 points along with Hamilton and team-mate Felipe Massa, who had a torrid race, finishing 13th after spinning off five times.

His latest result nevertheless continued the frustrations he has experienced in recent races.

Raikkonen failed to score in Monaco and Canada and had victory snatched away at the French Grand Prix when an exhaust problem cost him valuable time.

"The last races have not been easy for me," he continued. "We haven't had one good race. At the last race, we had good speed but unfortunately we had a problem with the car.

"If you look at all those things, not scoring in two races and not really having a perfect race in the next two, we are tied in the championship lead so it's not too bad. We know we have good speed."