Kimi Raikkonen finished the 2015 Russian Grand Prix in 8th place after starting the final lap in 4th place, because of an optimistic move on Valtteri Bottas which left both Finns worse off.
“All through the race the car was behaving well, especially after the pit stop, but then I was stuck behind other cars and had no speed on the straight, so it was hard to get past,” Kimi explained.
“In the final stages, I tried to overtake Valtteri in the same place I had passed him earlier in the race, I had a good run in turn 3 and in the next one there would have been enough space, so I decided to go for it. I don’t know if he was not expecting me at all or if he did not see me, but once I decided to go there was no way I could back off.”
The 35-year-old was able to continue with his damaged Ferrari to the finish line, but was awarded the equivalent of a 10-seconds stop/go penalty, which equates to a 30-seconds time penalty, after the race was complete.
“I tried to turn inside as much as I could, but there was no way to go and in the end we collided. It is an unfortunate thing for us and them, nobody wants to have an accident even if it’s part of racing. It’s really a shame, but my move was based on a good chance and not something completely crazy.”
