Raikkonen unhappy after opening day

Raikkonen, last year's winner from pole position in Melbourne, topped the times in the morning session but could only be sixth in the afternoon.

The Finn finished over 1.5 seconds off Lewis Hamilton's pace and admitted he was struggling with his car's handling.

"I am not very happy with the way practice went," said Raikkonen. "This morning we found some good settings for the car, but in the afternoon, we struggled and our laptimes reflect that.

"We must look carefully at the data to work out how to improve the car. We have seen that if we manage to find the right set-up, we have the potential to be competitive."

Teammate Felipe Massa was happier after posting the third quickest time, despite being unable to try the softer tyres after going off track.

"All in all, I am happy with this start to the season," he said. "We were able to work towards the race and I think I will be able to run at a good pace on a long run.

"Because of going off the track, I was unable to try the last set of soft tyres available to me, but that's certainly not a big problem. The harder tyres are very consistent, while the other compound gives more grip on the first lap, but then suffers from greater degradation."