Although he was delighted with Lotus’ double podium finish at Sakhir, Kimi Räikkönen has admitted his disappointment at missing out on victory. The 2007 World Champion has now finished on the rostrum five times at the desert track.
With Sebastian Vettel having won for Red Bull, Räikkönen and team-mate Romain Grosjean confirmed the first double podium finish for Lotus-entered cars since 1979. The Finn, who started 11th, had crucially saved up Soft tyres on Saturday.
“Of course I wanted to win and I would have been much happier if I had won,” Räikkönen, who last finished on the podium for Ferrari in the 2009 Italian Grand Prix, said in the post-race press conference.
“Nevertheless, the team deserved this and hopefully we can get ourselves into this position more often.”
Before Bahrain, he had been frustrated that the Enstone-built E20 had failed to show its true potential in the opening trio of ‘flyaway’ races.
“I really should have made it, but I didn’t,” he continued, having attacked Vettel at Turn 1 on Lap 36. “I got one try with Sebastian, but couldn’t use it because I went the wrong side. Then my tyres dropped off and that was it. I knew that was my only chance.”
The result moves Räikkönen and Grosjean up to seventh and eighth places in the Drivers’ Championship, propelling Lotus to third for Constructors’ honours.
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:35:10.990 |
| 2. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | +3.333 |
| 3. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | +10.194 |
| 4. | M. Webber | Red Bull | +38.788 |
| 5. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +55.460 |
| 6. | P. di Resta | Force India | +57.543 |
| 7. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +57.803 |
| 8. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | +58.984 |
| 9. | F. Massa | Ferrari | +1:04.999 |
| 10. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | +1:11.490 |
| Full results | |||
| Kimi Räikkönen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Kimi Räikkönen photos | |||
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