Raikkonen: We could have got to the end on those tyres

One of the big questions making the rounds in the Singapore paddock, after a mundane race turned into a thriller late in the night, was if Ferrari panicked late in the race and with it lost a sure podium finish.

On lap 45, with Kimi Raikkonen in third and Lewis Hamilton around five seconds adrift, Mercedes triggered Plan-B for their driver which saw the world champion dive into the pits for a set of Pierelli supersofts.

Panic was palpable in the Ferrari garage, they fell for the ploy by bringing Raikkonen in and giving him ultrasofts to cover the Hamilton strategy. But it did not work as the Ferrari emerged from the pitlane in fourth as the Silver Arrows flashed by in their where it remained until the end.

What seemed like a sure podium finish turned into fourth place instead, adding to a growing catalogue of strategy errors called from the Ferrari pit wall.

Raikkonen told media after the race, "I managed to pass him, then after the pit stop he got the position back. We lost the place there, I don’t know how and why they managed to jump us."

"For sure we could have got to the end on those tyres. If he [Hamilton] would have been able to catch us and pass, that I don't know."

"We'll be going through all the things and see what we could have done better. I think there were a few things we could have done but afterwards it's always very easy to say."

"I think we weren't so far from the Red Bull [in qualifying] or Lewis. I think we had pretty good speed but for most of the race we were stuck behind them. Nico had more speed than any of us. We did our own race and we can be quite happy.

"Obviously we gained one place but that's not what we are looking to achieve. We try to be in a position to win races, so we need to make the car go faster. Third or fourth is not exactly what we want."

Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene explained the decision, "Considering the distance to cover to the end of the race, and tire degradation, it made sense to call him to box one more time to cover Mercedes’ strategy."

Alberto Sabbatini wrote in the authoritative Autosprint magazine: "With hindsight it is easy to make the right decision. But it does not take a master strategy to understand that the Ferrari pit wall made a spectacularly wrong choice when on lap 45 they decided to 'mark' Hamilton by pitting Raikkonen instead of leaving him out on track to manage the advantage he had."