Raikkonen: Tyres key to qualifying breakthrough

The Finn has struggled so far this year to deliver enough speed on Saturdays, and his team boss Maurizio Arrivabene joked after the last race that he wanted his driver to do some qualifying homework.

With Raikkonen openly admitting that single-lap pace has been his Achilles Hell, he says that the trouble in making a step forward is that there is not a simple explanation for what is happening.

However, he thinks a lot of progress can be made if he understands better how to extract most performance from the tyres over a single lap.

When asked by Motorsport.com about which element was lacking most, he said: "There isn't one.

"Obviously tyres is a big key, to get them working in a proper way. And that makes a massive difference.

"Some circuits are more easy and some are more difficult, but we just have to make a better job out of it and try better to do a few good laps. I am sure we will get there but it seems to be a bit tricky."

Qualifying step will improve results

Raikkonen insists there are no issues with his race form, and thinks that simply delivering better grid positions will help improve his results tally.

"Obviously I know where we have to improve. Nobody has to tell me, and it is a very easy to thing to know.

"But we put ourselves in a difficult position in many Saturdays for Sunday, so if we improve that then we have good speed in the race.

"But if you are starting where you shouldn't, it makes a very difficult race for us. The aim is to try to improve but it is not always a simple thing to do."