Kimi Raikkonen says Ferrari had the pace to score a better result at the Japanese Grand Prix, but grid penalties and getting stuck behind slower cars hampered his race.
The Finnish driver qualified in third place but dropped to eighth with a grid penalty for a gearbox change.
He made good progress in the early stages but lost time passing the midfield runners and complained about blue flags several times.
Raikkonen eventually crossed the line in fifth place, behind his team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who also started out of position due to a grid penalty.
“After a good qualifying yesterday, the issue with the gearbox and the consequent starting position change was not ideal in this kind of track,” he said.
“Obviously there’s a lot of disappointment, as we had a good car and if we could have stayed in front we would have fought with more free air and with a lot of speed.
“I had a good start but then I got stuck behind other people: it was really tricky to follow other cars and it affected quite a bit the behaviour.
“It was also difficult to stay close to them and attack them. Once we got past them and I was on my own, the car was quick and handling well. For sure we were fast enough for a better result. Unfortunately, that’s how it goes.”
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