Raikkonen: We did Better than Expected

Finn Kimi Raikkonen said his McLaren-Mercedes team performed better than expected in today's qualifying for the United States Grand Prix.

Raikkonen, on pole last year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, had to settle for seventh position nearly a second behind the fastest time of the session. The McLaren driver said he was happy with his car and is targeting a point-scoring finish tomorrow.

"We did better than expected as the car has been quite difficult to handle so far this weekend," said Raikkonen. " However we managed to find a good balance and an overall improvement in time for qualifying, which is what it's all about, so overall I'm pleased.

"It will be a difficult race tomorrow, but we have a strong strategy and will do our best, so hopefully we will be reliable and score some points."

McLaren teammate David Coulthard, on the other hand, was not pleased with his car's handling after struggling to 12th position.

"I was reasonable happy with the balance of the car in the first run," Coulthard said. "We didn't make any changes between sessions, so I was a little bit surprised when the car felt different.

"I got out of shape in the corners and used more traction control which just soaks up the time. It will be a tough race tomorrow, and a lot will depend on track temperature."