McLaren drivers admit making mistakes

Raikkonen put in a stunning first sector but drove sideways through the Variante Alta. However he caught the slide brilliantly and carried enough speed through the chicane to save his laptime.

"A reasonable grid position," said Raikkonen, "however I made a small mistake at the top chicane which cost me some time, so I think I could have been a bit higher up. We have improved the car since yesterday, so we will see what happens in the race tomorrow."

DC made a mistake at the Rivazza corner and locked a wheel on the way in to Tosa. The effort the Scot was putting in was clear to see, but it was not enough to give him a more favourable stating position.

"Obviously I'm disappointed," he said. "I was going well until Rivazza where I made a mistake - a quick look at the telemetry showed that it cost me more than seven tenths of a second. As the first three races have shown this year anything can happen and I have done well from low grid positions before, but its not going to be easy."

Team principal Ron Dennis was implacable as ever: "It is the race that matters and we will have to see how our strategy works," he said.