Kimi struggling with set-up

World Champion takes lowest grid slot since Australian GP

Last updated: 19th July 2008

kimi raikkonen ferrari 19/7/2008

Raikkonen: Struggling

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After qualifying only sixth for Sunday's German Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen admitted that he has been struggling to find the right set-up on his Ferrari.

The World Champion was clearly struggling with the handling on the car during Saturday's qualifying, his quickest lap in the final session being over seven-tenths-of-a-second slower than that of polesitter Lewis Hamilton.

Raikkonen conceded he has tried a number of different ways to solve his malaise at Hockenheim, but so far to no avail.

"All weekend long, we have been struggling a bit to find a good set-up for the car," said Raikkonen, currently level on points at the top of the drivers' standings with Hamilton and Felipe Massa.

"At the end of yesterday it seemed we were on the right road, and then this morning we tried to improve still further down this path, but it was not the right one.

"Then in qualifying, we went reasonably well with low fuel, but in the final session the car was not as good.

"Clearly sixth place is not satisfying and tomorrow we won't be in for an easy time, but it's definitely not the end of the world.

"It will be a long race tomorrow, and that's when the points are allocated. For our part, we will do all we can to finish well."

In contrast, team-mate Massa has been on the pace and starts second behind Hamilton, with Raikkonen also behind Heikki Kovalainen in his McLaren, Toyota's Jarno Trulli and Renault's Fernando Alonso.

Mixed feelings

"On the one hand we are satisfied with Felipe's position as he produced a good qualifying performance," said Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali.

"But on the other hand we cannot feel the same about Kimi, who never managed to find the right balance on his car.

"To analyse the result objectively, one would need to know how much fuel the others have on board, but clearly, starting from the third row won't make life easy for Kimi.

"We will have to work with scrupulous attention over the next few hours to prepare for a race that looks like being a very tough one.

"I am sure both our drivers will give it their best shot and have a great race."