"We were so low that the result at Fuji got a whole new significance," said Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen (above, during the Japanese Grand Prix) ahead of this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix. "Finally I managed to start from the first row and end the race with a podium finish.

"We were so low that the result at Fuji got a whole new significance," said Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen ahead of this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix. "Finally I managed to start from the first row and end the race with a podium finish. The Team was really glad about the points we brought back home and that we managed to get back in the lead in the Constructors' Championship. I have to admit that the second place in the qualifying and the third one in the race are not exactly what I was looking for, because I had the possibility to gain the pole and to win the race on Sunday.

"The Team worked day and night to improve the car, but in the end my weekend wasn't so different from many others this year. Finding the right set up seems to depend too much on the weather conditions. We know that we got the right potential, but quite often it seems really difficult to find the right way to exploit it all the way. We'll nevertheless continue to give it a try - all the time. The start went well. I was ahead of the rest, just like we had planned. And when you turn into the first corner in front of everybody else, you should be there also when you come out of it. I have no idea what the drivers behind me were thinking. They braked so late that it was impossible to avoid the following chaos. It was an unexplainable mistake by the two cars from McLaren, who actually expelled me from the fight for victory at the Japanese GP. If I had managed to get unharmed through the first corner, I could have won. But instead of leading I was again stuck behind slower cars. We gave it our best, but we didn't have the possibility to race with a free track. I managed to overtake Trulli and I could have passed also Kubica during the second pitstop. But I was stuck behind Rosberg and lost precious seconds. I tried to pass Kubica a couple of times on the track where it was possible to overtake; we fought, but we both didn't lift the foot from the throttle and therefore I got off the track in corner three. Later on I didn't want to risk too much. It was more important to gain an important third place.

"It's true Sunday's result was a "sayonara" to the Drivers' title although I knew since Spa that there wasn't much hope left. I should have won them, because then I still could have decided over my own destiny. But after the retirement it was just a question of time. Since January I tell you that I give it my best to win the title again. And if I won't win I'll try it again next year. I know how to become a World Champion. Now we're going to China. Let's see what we can do there, where I won last year. Shanghai is a very demanding track and I really like it. Our goal is a one-two win. I'll give it all to help Felipe and the Team to gain the results we want."