Raikkonen 'pushed a little too hard' in Q3

by - 10/09/2012 12:36:00 p.m.


Kimi Raikkonen had no excuses about his mishap at the end of qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix, but was still hoping for a successful race outing at Suzuka on Sunday.

Kimi Raikkonen was in his usual taciturn frame of mind when he was asked what had happened at the end of the final round of qualifying for the 2012 F1 Grand Prix of Japan.

"I spun," he said simply, of the incident at Spoon that brought out waved yellow fags at a critical point of Q3 and meant several drivers had to lift out of their final flying lap attempts at Suzuka.

"I was on a good lap and I was pushing - maybe a little too hard," he admitted when pressed. "Lost the rear," he added.

"It's a shame as the car feels the best it has all weekend," he continued. "If the car's good tomorrow we should be able to move forwards. Let's see what happens.”

Raikkonen didn't have a chance to try another flying lap after his spin and duly ended up in eighth place on the timesheets in Q3, although he'll be boosted up a position thanks to a gearbox penalty for Jenson Button. The two drivers will start alongside each other on the fourth row of the grid.

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