Kimi Raikkonen says F1 tyre change has hurt his qualifying form

The Finn has been outqualified four times in the six races since Pirelli first changed its rubber at July's German Grand Prix ahead of the final switch to 2013 compounds combined with 2012 construction in Hungary.

Raikkonen believes that the lack of front-end bite does not suit his driving style.

"Since we changed the tyres, it is more like it was last year," said Raikkonen.

"For me, it was definitely better qualifying on the other tyres, they were a bit more sharp on the front end.

"We have got to try to find a way to get it back where we want to be as it has hit us quite hard in qualifying lately.

"I'm sure we can find something. Usually it seems to turn out to be more normal in race conditions."

By contrast, Romain Grosjean believes the balance of the modified rubber has helped his qualifying performances.

The Franco-Swiss driver has twice qualified third in the last four races, and also believes his improving Saturday form is down to the natural improvement that has been going on since his early-season struggles.

"I hate the first [tyres] this year," he said.

"Plus since we put the car back on track from Bahrain onwards, the qualifying has always been better and better.

"The first races were like my first testing of the year and after that we found our proper speed and are looking quite good."

RAIKKONEN vs GROSJEAN QUALIFYING POSITIONS

              Raikkonen    Grosjean
Germany         4th          5th
Hungary         6th          3rd
Belgium         8th          7th
Italy           11th         13th
Singapore       13th         3rd
Korean          10th         4th