Japanese GP: Raikkonen qualifying woe part of crash's 'hefty price'

The Ferrari driver damaged the left side of the car when he crashed at the second Degner right-hander halfway through Saturday morning's final practice session at Suzuka.

Ferrari inspected the unit and decided a change was needed ahead of qualifying, which instigated a five-place grid penalty.

It repaired the car ready in time to get him out for qualifying, but Raikkonen went wide at the same corner on his first Q3 run and ended up sixth after his second.

"I just went off," said Raikkonen.

"It was a mistake, and I paid quite a hefty price for it with the penalty and far from ideal preparation for qualifying, but that's how it goes.

"The first lap [in Q1] was far from ideal. On the second lap, I wasn't sure how much there will be grip because it wasn't a great feeling on the first run.

"The biggest issue was very limited running because of the issue this morning.

"At a place like this where you have to get it right to be able to go fast in the first sector, you pay a big price."

Raikkonen is expected to line up 10th after his penalty and will begin the race on the soft tyre, rather than the super-soft like most of those ahead of him.

He is hopeful of a stronger race on Sunday, given his feeling in the car before his accident on Saturday morning.

"It's a bit tricky because of this morning, it's not the greatest feeling in the end of qualifying," he said.

"Before we had the mistake, it's been good. I think the race should be OK.

"I think we have a good car, we will do our best and see where we end up.

"It's not going to be easy, but I'm sure we should have a pretty decent race."