Raikkonen: Second was not good enough
By Jonathan Noble and Pablo Elizalde Sunday, September 7th 2008, 15:11 GMT
Kimi Raikkonen said he did not want second place at the Belgian Grand Prix after crashing out on the final lap while battling for the lead with Lewis Hamilton.
The Ferrari driver had led the majority of the race, but Hamilton benefited from the rain during the final laps to close the gap and pass the Finn.
Raikkonen regained his position when Hamilton and the Ferrari driver himself nearly crashed into the spun car of Nico Rosberg, but lost it again moments later when he spun too.
The world champion then lost control of his car again and crashed against the wall.
Raikkonen admitted it was all or nothing for him.
"I was prepared to win or lose, but unfortunately I went off," Raikkonen told reporters. "I only wanted to win. I slid wide on the fast left hander, and tried to come back on the circuit but I spun.
"I needed to get points so wanted to win it or lose it but unfortunately went off. I didn't want to finish behind we would have lost points. We see what we can do."
Raikkonen made contact with Hamilton a few times while battling for position, and their clash was put under investigation by the stewards.
Hamilton jumped the final chicane when the pair made contact, and although he let Raikkonen past, the Briton kept his momentum and overtook him on the following corner.
Raikkonen did not want to comment on the incident.
"There are rules about cutting chicanes and gaining an advantage and they are looking it. So I don't have anything to say," the Finn said.
The result left Raikkonen a massive 23 points behind Hamilton in the standings with just five races left. Teammate Felipe Massa is eight behind the Briton, and it is now likely the Finn will have to play a support role.
He said, however, that he is only planning to win races.
"It is not up to me if he (Massa) wins or not," he said. "I will do the best I can do and we see what the situation is. I try to win races and we will see what happens."
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