Kimi Raïkkonen's upbeat performance today in Bahrain earned the Ferrari driver his first visit to a F1 podium since the South Korean Grand Prix in 2013.
A spirited drive right off the bat saw the Finn get the measure of his team mate Sebastian Vettel and then bark at the heels of Nico Rosberg towards the end of the race, eventually gaining access to second place when his rival's Mercedes fell victim to a brake issue.
"Obviously, you’re never happy when you finish second," Kimi said. But I think after a difficult start to the year, I’m a bit pleased to get a result."
Raïkkonen believes he got the most out of both the car and the strategy put forward by Ferrari, and that an outright win on merit was never really in the cards.
"We did the right calls and had the right tyres, but we need to start a little higher up. We came through in the end very quickly but we ran out of laps. We have to be happy after where we qualified and after where we finished, but obviously we’re looking for bigger results."
In typical low-key Raïkkonen fashion, the Finn expressed his views with a fair degree of measure but still underscored his satisfaction with the team's current progress.
"I’m very happy with how the team is working. After last year, where we are now, it’s a big step. Everybody is working really well together and the atmosphere is good. I’m sure, as a team, we’ll get there, and be able to fight for wins. But it will take a little bit more time."
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