Kimi Raikkonen offers BRUTAL assessment of why Sebastian Vettel took pole position
KIMI RAIKKONEN was left to rue a mistake in the closing stages of his final Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying lap which cost him a likely pole position.
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Raikkonen had struggled throughout qualifying, having been forced to abandon his super-soft tyre strategy in Q2 after running off the track at Turn Three.
The Finn eventually put in the fastest lap of the second session on the ultra-soft tyre and went faster still through the first two sectors of his final lap with Sebastian Vettel on provisional pole.
However, Raikkonen lost momentary control of his Ferrari coming out of Turn 16 and was unable to improve on sixth place.
“Obviously it was a f***-up," Raikkonen said, dismissing the suggestion he had been undone by a gust of wind.
"A mistake.
“It cost us quite a few places so not the greatest end.
"I had all the speed there but just got sideways on the exit of the last corner so lost all the speed for the straight.
“Without the mistake I would have been in a much better position but we will see what happens [tomorrow]."
Raikkonen will be the furthest car forward on the purple-rimmed ultra-soft tyre, meaning he will be desperate to make progress in the early stages of the race as he will have to stop earlier than his rivals.
But even his boss at Ferrari knows the 38-year-old could or even should be starting in P1 on Sunday.
"It's a pity for Kimi as because until the last corner he could have been on pole," Maurizio Arrivabene said.
"This is racing and I hope next time he can do better. It's a good fight."
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Instead, Vettel will have to hold off Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, who will start second and third respectively.
And both are desperate to right the wrongs of the first three races where Mercedes have failed to record a win, their worst run in the hybrid era.
Bottas said: ”For sure [we can take the fight to Ferrari tomorrow].
“We are there with both cars now.
“We are starting very close and the race here can be crazy."
Vettel too admitted he expected an eventful afternoon at the Baku street circuit, where blustery conditions made controlled driving difficult in qualifying.
"It will be an intense race. Anything can happen here and safety cars are likely,” Vettel said.
"The good point is that our car was really good this afternoon so it should be in a good place tomorrow.
“Yesterday I struggled a bit with confidence and trust in the car and rhythm but today, when it clicks, it just keeps coming."