Kimi Raikkonen concedes Ferrari just didn't have the pace to beat McLaren at Monza on Sunday

The Finn, who qualified in fifth place after opting for a one-stop strategy and therefore a heavier fuel load in qualifying, made his way up into fourth place after passing Nick Heidfeld off the line.

He was then promoted to third place when his team-mate Felipe Massa retired due to mechanical problems with the rear-end of his Ferrari.

And after his one stop and Lewis Hamilton's two, Raikkonen was momentarily up into second place. However, a fast-paced and very brave move from Hamilton into the first chicane saw Raikkonen once again stranded in third place.

"The car wasn't too bad," he said. "In the first stint it was pretty okay. We were heavier than the McLarens and we knew that they would pull away.

"Probably the biggest problem was that I could not keep my head up under braking. My neck is not in such a great shape after yesterday so that was the main issue. But we just didn't have the speed."

He added: "Monza is a bit like Montreal. We knew that they would be strong here. We knew from the test last week that we were not where we wanted to be."

Speaking more about his neck problem, the result of his high-speed crash in Saturday's final practice session, the Finn said: "The problem was under braking. It was hard to keep the head up. It didn't help for sure. I tried to do my best but he got too close and got past me."

Raikkonen's P3 in Italy meant once again McLaren duo Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were able to extend their lead over the Ferrari driver in the standings.

Hamilton is 18 points ahead of Raikkonen with Italian GP winner Alonso just three points behind the Championship leader.

source & pic: planet-f1