Kimi was ‘prepared’ to take the hit

Editor

In hindsight, Kimi Raikkonen concedes it would "maybe" have been better to run Ferrari's upgraded aero package in Sunday's Spanish GP.

Although Raikkonen trailed the new parts in Friday's practices, he swapped back to the 'old' aero package ahead of Saturday's qualifying.

He finished that in seventh place before going on to complete the grand prix P5 having chased down Valtteri Bottas but been unable to find a way through.

"We learned a lot," stated the 2007 World Champion. "In the race we gained a few places, but I was not very comfortable with my car, as it was sliding around.

"Besides that, and for whatever reason, we are able catch the Williams but it's very difficult to overtake them: they are very fast down the straights and once we get behind them, our car starts to be difficult to handle, much more than when you’re following other lapped cars."

As for his decision to revert to the old aero parts, the Ferrari driver says it was a good learning experience for the team even if it "maybe" wasn't the best choice for him.

"About the choice of going back to the 'old' aero package, I think it was good for all of us to be able to compare them on the circuit and I was prepared to run the risk.

"Maybe it would have been better with the new bits, that is probably the case, but at least now we know about it.

"So, for the next races, we have to do a better job and we need to have more clean weekends, without any issue, even a small one, to make sure that everything works. We know where we have to improve."