Kimi Raikkonen struggled with new tyres at Singapore

The Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen will start tomorrow’s Singapore Grand Prix from a lowly 12th position on the grid, after the Finn allegedly suffered for grip on new tyres in Q2. The Championship contender was out-qualified by his returning team-mate of Romain Grosjean, will was able to manage 8th on the grid.

After stating earlier in the week that the ‘Iceman’ was after a competitive result around the tricky Marina Bay street circuit, Kimi Raikkonen will be faced with a tough task in tomorrow’s 61-lap race. With the Finn set to the start the race from the midfield, safely negotiating the opening lap will be his top priority before clawing his way through the field to the points scoring positions.

“The car was much better overall today than it was yesterday.” Confirmed Kimi Raikkonen, even though he struggled in Q2. “We were quick with the used tyres but for some reason struggled for grip with the new ones in the second session and we were actually slightly slower. For sure P12 is not the position we wanted; we don’t seem to have the speed to challenge the leaders here but the car is definitely quicker than that. We’ll see what we can do in the race.”

Although both Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean have qualified lower than they would have preferred, Lotus remain confident after what they believe are significant improvements overnight. Due to the tight and twisty confines of the Marina Bay street circuit, passing can sometimes be difficult during the race. This could prove detrimental for Raikkonen’s Championship hopes, as he strives to remain within the Championship battle alongside the likes of Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel.

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