Bad luck run frustrates Raikkonen

The Finn is already 12 points behind World Championship leader Fernando Alonso. That's three points less than he was at this stage last season.

And after seeing his chances of winning the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix wrecked by a suspension failure in qualifying that put him at the back of the grid, Raikkonen said in Australia on Thursday that the only positive he can take out of the situation is that the events are beyond his control.

"Of course I am not happy with it," said Raikkonen about his run of bad luck in the sport. "It hurts more if it is my fault, and if I can't blame myself then I am not that angry.

"There are some situations where the engine has gone, or there is an accident, but what can you do? You have tried your best, you have not done anything wrong and of course it is a disappointment for yourself and the team - but you cannot change it.

"It also depends on what time it is during the season. If you start the season with an accident then of course it hurts more. And if you are fighting for the championship then it hurts more than if it has been a bad season."

Raikkonen has said there is little point getting depressed about his title situation, despite the points gap that has opened up to Alonso.

"At least we will try to catch him," he explained. "The situation is not the best possible but after the last race we were not able to be in a better position.

"We try our best and at least here we have a much better chance to be at the same speed, like we had in Bahrain."

With overtaking so difficult at the Albert Park circuit, Raikkonen said it was vital that he got his car onto the front of the grid.

"Compared to Bahrain and Malaysia, starting at the front is much more important. This is one of the places where it is not so easy to overtake. The front row is always important and now we will try to get the best set-up to do it right in qualifying."