Kimi Raikkonen admitted Ferrari are "just not quick enough" after qualifying in eighth place for the Chinese Grand Prix.
Ferrari duo both lack of KERS after struggling in qualifying
Kimi Raikkonen admitted Ferrari are "just not quick enough" after qualifying in eighth place for the Chinese Grand Prix.
The Finn was not helped at the Shanghai circuit, where Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel claimed pole, by not having the chance to run on new tryes for Q3.
However, Raikkonen admits the major problem is a lack of pace in his F60 - something he knows must improve quickly if the team are to challenge.
Team-mate Felipe Massa will start from 13th on the grid on Sunday. So far this year the Scuderia have yet to score a single championship point.
Current potential
"Of course I'm not happy with eighth place but, given our current potential, we have to settle for this," he said.
"We got everything out of the car but we had no more new tyres for Q3 and therefore, it's already something to have put quite a few of our competitors behind us.
"The problem is still the same, we are just not quick enough. The car's handling isn't bad, but as I've said before, we are giving away a second to the best.
"I hope we get some developments quickly but, in the meantime, we try to do the best with what we've got. I hope we have a good race and pick up a few points."
Raikkonen believes he may have done better had the KERS system been used by the team this weekend.
"I don't know where we might have been if we had the KERS: at some points it gives you an advantage, but in others it can be a disadvantage. It would have been useful to run it on at least one car to understand the situation better," the former world champion added.
A mistake meant Massa failed to even make it to Q3 on Saturday. The Brazilian believes he too would have been better off with KERS.
Handicap
"The first run in Q2 was pretty good, but on the second, I made a mistake going into Turn 9 which kept me out of Q3," he said.
"I had a bit of traffic on my out lap which meant I didn't get the tyres up to the right temperature.
"We must try and get through these two difficult races, bringing home a few points, working in the meantime on the development of the car.
"Not having the KERS is definitely a handicap in my case, especially in qualifying. This is another area where we must work, to go back to using it as soon as possible."
