Spanish GP: Kimi Raikkonen reckons every flying lap is a fight

The Finn outpaced team-mate Fernando Alonso in Spanish Grand Prix qualifying, taking sixth place - one spot ahead of the sister car.

But asked if that was a sign of progress, Raikkonen replied: "No, the morning was a disaster and we changed the car quite a bit.

"It was still very difficult, I had to fight a lot to get the one lap out. There are small things all the time and it's tricky to get the one lap.

"You have to stay on line and try not to make a mistake, it's always a fight to get the lap out, and obviously it's still disappointing to be six or seventh.

"We still want to be at the front so we cannot be happy but that's how it goes.

"It was better this afternoon, but still not where we should be."

Raikkonen shrugged off the significance of outqualifying Alonso.

"Obviously people are interested on that side but for me it's about being at the front," he said.

"It doesn't give me much satisfaction to be only six or seventh, that's not where we want to be.

"There's a much bigger picture that we have to look at and right now it's nice, but [outqualifying Alonso] isn't going to change my life.

He also played down the chances of Ferrari fighting for a podium on Sunday.

"That's the aim but is it going to happen? Hard to say," Raikkonen responded when asked if he expected a podium bid.

"This year there has always been something that has happened to make it difficult so hopefully it's just a normal race."