Raikkonen hoping for help from weather

On a track where overtaking is virtually impossible, the Ferrari driver will start the race from 15th place on the grid after damaging his car during the second part of qualifying.

The Finn made contact with the barriers at the Swimming Pool area, his stricken car failing to turn when arriving at the Rascasse corner. With no time to fix the damage, Raikkonen failed to return to the track.

Now the Ferrari driver, who retired from the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago, is hoping the weather will help him tomorrow.

"We'll see what happens tomorrow," Raikkonen said. "It doesn't make it any easier. We'll see after here what happens. It is still a long year ahead, and hopefully we can score some points tomorrow and not fall too far away.

"I don't know. I think it depends on the weather," the Finn said of his chances. "If it is similar to today and changeable then we have a much better chance to have a good race.

"But if it is dry it is so difficult to overtake. If it is wet it is not so bad. You can still overtake people.

"The car has been good and it has been nice to drive around. But at Monaco a small mistake costs you a lot."

Raikkonen admitted the problem was caused after a driving error of his own.

"It was the slow part coming into the corner," he added. "The rear of the car got a little bit out of shape and just touched the inside there. It was just hard enough to break the steering on the right.

"It is quite high-speed there and you don't need to hit hard [to damage your car]. Sometimes you can hit quite hard and damage nothing, and sometimes you hit a little bit less and you damage it. It's just one mistake."