'Second doesn't feel awfully good' - Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen wasn't looking at all happy on the podium in Monaco, despite taking second place in Sunday's Grand Prix.

Raikkonen started from pole and led until he pitted on lap 33. His team mate Sebastian Vettel stayed out six laps longer, and was able to come back out just ahead.

“It's hard to say really,” he said, when asked how he felt about how the race had turned out. "For the team it's good, but not for myself.

"It's still second place, but it doesn't feel awfully good," he admitted. "Not much I can say about it. It’s still second place, but it doesn’t count a lot in my books at least.

"This is how it goes sometimes.

"We go for the next race and try to do better. One of those days that you wish you had a bit more.”

As the leader on track, Raikkonen had priority when it came to pit strategy. He came in early after being held up by backmarkers.

However the overcut - staying out longer - was clearly the better approach as proved by Vettel. It was also demonstrated by Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who gaining two positions with the same strategy.

• Vettel takes complete control over Raikkonen at Monaco

"I was called in. That is about it," Raikkonen said when asked about the call. "Obviously they had reasons for it, but it is not up to me to answer.

"I'm trying to figure out something that is impossible to know right now, at least from my side," said Raikkonen when asked about the strategy choice. "I haven’t seen the big picture, I only know that we came second.

"It obviously wasn't ideal to end up behind a lapped car. It's something that definitely doesn't help," he said. "But the end result is what it is, so I have to see, we just finished the race.

"I guess there's some reason for everything that happens in life, but we'll have to see."

There's speculation that Raikkonen has now been firmly consigned to 'number two' status at Ferrari. If that's the case, he'll likely spend the rest of the season supporting Vettel's title bid.

But Raikkonen said that it's crucial that he continues to trust what the team tells him over the radio when it comes to strategy calls.

"We work as a team. If you don’t believe what you have been told or how it works it will get very complicated." he said. "We always try to work as best as we can."

 
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Gallery: All the pictures from Saturday in Monaco

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