Kimi Raikkonen says his last lap during qualifying was "average" despite it securing him third place on the Brazilian Grand Prix grid, behind only the two Mercedes cars.
The Finn qualified more than six tenths down on Lewis Hamilton, but his time was a tenth better than team-mate Sebastian Vettel in fifth could manage.
"I struggled all qualifying in a few places and a few corners," Raikkonen said. "To be honest, the last lap was pretty average in my view, but enough to be third.
"Mercedes seems to be a bit too far. Hopefully we can have a good strong race tomorrow."
Raikkonen has now qualified ahead of Vettel ten times this season, meaning they are now equal at 10-10.
"It has been very close," he said of his team-mate battle. "I think most of the year has been very close and some races been a bit behind or in front, but we have done a very good job as a team and improved certain areas.
"We learned some positive things, and as a team we worked well, and it is helping us get back to where we were at start of the year."
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