Kimi Raikkonen was disappointed with his qualifying performance at the Japanese Grand Prix after securing sixth on the grid.
Raikkonen had been quicker than team-mate Sebastian Vettel in Q1 and Q2, but when it came to Q3 he barely improved on his time and ended up a tenth of a second shy of the lead Ferrari. His second run was cut short by Daniil Kvyat crashing and causing a red flag, which left him sixth.
"The end was disappointing as we had good speed all the way through, but a bit average feeling on the first run in last qualifying," Raikkonen said. "Then there was the red flag, so it was a bit s*** end result. But it is what it is...
"The first two qualifying runs were good and then that one set [of tyres] just didn't have the grip and feeling. It felt a bit better again on that last lap, but we didn't manage to do the full lap with the red flag, so it ended up costing us quite a bit."
Raikkonen qualified behind both Williamses, which are notoriously difficult to pass due to their high top speed.
"We will try to make a good start and go from there," Raikkonen said when asked about his chances of passing Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas. "Obviously, as I have said, it is a bit unknown for the race as there wasn't much running in dry conditions, but hopefully we have all the correct things for the race and can gain positions because it is going to be a long race if you are stuck behind people."