Raikkonen relieved to survive a day of 'too many close calls'

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was relieved to finish the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in second place behind winner Lewis Hamilton after enduring an afternoon of close calls and near misses.

The Finn's trials and tribulations began even before the race got underway when he got caught out by a gust of wind and nearly crashed on his way to the grid.

Then on the opening lap, he fought Force India's Esteban Ocon for the same piece of tarmac and was to escape the encounter intact while the Frenchman was left to retire on the spot.

But after the race, Raikkonen also revealed that he survived a massive brush with the walls in the late stages of the chaotic race.

"On the first lap after the re-start, coming to the last part of the straight, I hit the inside wall at full speed, so I was pretty lucky that the front wheel didn’t go," said the Finn.

"I was expecting it to go faster but I was lucky.

• 'I had to try' - Vettel has no regrets about going for the win

"It wasn’t the easiest of races or most enjoyable. On many moments I nearly put it in the wall. Even on the way to the grid I was pretty certain that it’s in the wall already but I managed to get it away from it. Too many close calls.

"The feeling was there but not consistently. I thought, OK, I just try to go as fast as I can and a little bit safer. The Red Bulls, looking at what they were doing earlier in the race it was pretty certain something will happen later on when they get close to each other.

"Everything changed after that and once I put the other tyres on and again it felt OK and it all played into our hands.

"Very definitely a better day than yesterday but second is not what you want. Looking where we were earlier, you take it and we go from there.

"We know we have the speed. We just have to put things together, and I’m sure it will come."

On his opening lap contact with Ocon, which the Frenchman firmly blamed on the Ferrari driver, Raikkonen says the Force India driver likely turned into the corner without realizing how far alongside the Finn actually was at that point.

“I was on the inside going into that corner, I don’t know if he didn’t see me but there was obviously contact and he came worse out of it," said Raikkonen.

"I thought for sure he was going to know I was there because I was easily next to him.

"I think he probably didn’t see me. It’s pretty difficult sometimes to see. So obviously he just turned in and I was there.

"It wasn’t ideal the start for me but I didn’t get worse off from that, so I was lucky in that way."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter