Raikkonen Philosophical after Lost Chance

The Finn, whose chances of winning evaporated when he collected a 10-place penalty on the starting grid for an engine failure in Saturday practice, powered up from 12th place to third.

Despite another flawless performance, Raikkonen saw Championship rival Fernando Alonso finish in second place, the Spaniard forging further ahead in the Championship, easing 26 points clear of Raikkonen.

With eight races remaining, Alonso has 77 points to Raikkonen's 51.

The McLaren driver, who crossed the finish line 14 seconds behind race winner Juan Pablo Montoya, admitted he lost too much time behind traffic to be able to fight for a better position.

Raikkonen said: "I think so this year the cars are difficult to follow and I was quite a bit quicker than them and I could close at end of back straight but not able to be close enough in fast corners so I knew that it was difficult to get anywhere after that.

"But at least we got podiums so at least it is a good result for the team. It could have been better, but this is what we got."

The Finn, who had also started from the middle of the grid after an engine change in France, was convinced the result could have been better without the failure on Saturday.

"Under normal circumstances I think it would have been different result, but there is nothing more I can do and hopefully the team can sort the rest out and we don't have to start 10 places back any more," he said.