Raikkonen seeks answers after ‘nightmare’ run of F1 form

Kimi Raikkonen took responsibility for his Russian Grand Prix jump-start penalty but has called on the Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team to find answers for a “nightmare” run.

Raikkonen was handed a drive-through penalty for jumping the start in Sochi and although a pair of Safety Car periods helped reduce his deficit, the Finn could only recover to a lowly 13th.

It marked the latest disappointment for Raikkonen, who has not scored points since the Hungarian Grand Prix prior to F1’s summer break.

Raikkonen was hit by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at Spa, started from the back of the grid in Monza and was taken out in a collision with Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat in Singapore.

“Obviously the race was my fault,” Raikkonen admitted.

“In the end we got back to the pack with the Safety Car, so we could un-lap ourselves, but unfortunately we just didn’t have enough speed.

“We could just be with the Toro Rosso, I passed one because they were fighting against each other.

“But we have to understand why the last four races have been nightmares to figure out what’s going wrong, to understand things.

“Out of the last four races only in Spa we had the speed. The rest has been more or less fighting with it.

“I think the last four races have been bellow the expectations, but that’s how it is.

“For sure we’ll try to improve and figure out what’s going wrong and then see what happens.”

Raikkonen currently occupies 14th spot in the drivers' championship, having scored 31 points. Teammate Antonio Giovinazzi is 18th with four points to his name, while Alfa Romeo sits eighth in the constructors', 17 points behind Racing Point.