- Italian GP - Race
Ferrari struggle was inevitable - Kimi
Kimi Raikkonen said it was inevitable Ferrari would struggle on home turf this weekend after he finished ninth at the Italian Grand Prix.
Ferrari was off the pace from qualifying onwards at Monza, with Raikkonen failing to make it out of Q2 on Saturday. In the race he only made up three places (one of which came thanks to a post-race time penalty for Kevin Magnussen) and he admitted Ferrari's lack of power put him at a disadvantage.
"We knew this place was going to be difficult because of the long straights," he said. "We hoped to have a better race for the team and the fans, but there were not really issues and this is where we ended up. I'm expecting to be in a more forward position at the next few races, so hopefully that's the case.
"It was difficult to overtake here. Maybe with a few more laps, I could have got a few guys, but then they probably would have been able to get the position back again on the next straight on this kind of circuit. The balance was okay, but we were just lacking grip and speed, so that's what it was.
"We could get close to the people, but when you are following people closely you lose so much downforce and the car gets so loose that it's very tricky to pass them. Anyhow, the speed in a straightline is not where we want and it's a bit difficult from that side already. So when you close and try to get a good speed out of the corner it gets even trickier. That's what it was really."
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