F1: Raikkonen laments qualifying "disaster"

Ferrari Formula 1 driver Kimi Raikkonen said his Monaco Grand Prix qualifying was a "disaster" as his disappointing form over one lap this season continued.

The Finn has struggled to put together a tidy lap in qualifying this year and he is the only driver in 2015 to have not outqualified his teammate at least once. Raikkonen will start Sunday's race from sixth, having finished 1.3s off pole and six tenths adrift of team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who starts third.

"It was a bad result in the end as it's difficult to overtake here," said Raikkonen. "It's not a very happy day.

"It's going to be a long race if I'm stuck behind some cars, but I'll try to get the maximum out of it. We had no grip on the first set [for the first run]. The second run felt normal but I had traffic.

"It was a disaster. The car felt OK but it was difficult to get heat in the tires."

Raikkonen hit the wall at Ste Devote in third practice but he insisted that had no impact on his performance in qualifying. However, he said the team must get to the bottom of his qualifying struggles because it is making life in the race more difficult than it needs to be.

"We seem to manage to get it wrong every race," he said. "We have to work on something to try and improve it. We don't put ourselves in very good position for Sunday.

"It makes our races difficult when you start behind because you spend time trying to get past cars and then you drop out of the fight in front."

Ferrari looked strong in final practice, with Vettel topping the times heets, but the temperatures dropped before qualifying which hindered the Scuderia. Yet despite failing to prevent a Mercedes front row lock-out, Vettel is hopeful the team will be closer in the race.

"With higher temperatures, it could have been closer," said Vettel. "As it stands, we were quite far away again but tomorrow, we should be a bit closer.

"We have not been able to do long runs, no one has, but the car feels good round here. The start will be important. I'm starting on the inside so it gives me the possibility of a good start."

Originally on Autosport.com