I did the best I could, says Kimi

Kimi Raikkonen reckoned that eighth place on the grid for the Japanese Grand Prix was the best result he could achieve after rain caused trouble late in the final qualifying session

Oct 11, 2003, 10:17 AM

The rain was a particular blow to the McLaren ace as he needs to win the race to stand a chance of claiming the championship. However, Raikkonen will take some comfort from the performance of title rival Michael Schumacher, who was hampered further by the rain and ended up 14th.

"The circuit was becoming wet when we went out so our time was the best we could do in those conditions," said Raikkonen. "We will see what happens tomorrow when it becomes clear what strategy everybody is on and more importantly what the weather will do. We will do everything we can to make a good race and at least Michael is not on pole!"

Mercedes boss Norbert Haug said: "It's a pity when the weather decides the order of the starting grid. However we expect this to be the basis for an exciting race. Yesterday's top five suffered an increasing handicap towards the end of today's session."