By Ian Parkes, PA Sport, Manama
Kimi Raikkonen emerged from a weekend that was less than perfect with the lead in the world championship, and now he is ready to crank up the pressure.
Raikkonen was unable to match the pace of Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa throughout the three days of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
But the reigning world champion still came home second behind the Brazilian to open up a three-point cushion in the drivers' title race.
That was primarily due to Lewis Hamilton finishing a miserable 13th after the Briton committed two mistakes in the opening two minutes to wreck his race.
With the season heading towards Europe, starting with the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona in three weeks' time, Raikkonen is looking to consolidate his lead at the top of the standings.
"It wasn't perfect all weekend," assessed Raikkonen.
"The problem was that one lap was good, but the next different and we never really found the perfect mid-way if you like.
"It's one of those things that we couldn't really get the car right.
"But out of a bad weekend I still finished second and I'm leading the championship, so I leave Bahrain reasonably satisfied.
"That is the main thing, and we know we have the speed once we get everything right, so although the race was difficult, I am happy with second.
"Out of the first three races it is really important to get as many points as possible.
"After that the season really starts, so heading into Europe I am very happy to be leading, and hopefully we can be really strong in the next races.
"If I continue to score second places I won't be too disappointed, although of course I would rather win than be second."
Raikkonen appreciates it was Hamilton's errors that enabled him to leapfrog to the top of the standings, while Ferrari are a point behind BMW Sauber in the constructors' championship.
The Finn, though, was always confident he would have the measure of Hamilton on the Sakhir circuit.
"Although he was leading the championship, we knew we should be able to beat him anyhow, and if he doesn't score points it's even better for us," mocked Raikkonen.
"I'm now leading and that's good for me, whilst we have caught up a lot in the constructors' championship.
"We are only one point behind now, which shows one race can make a big difference, so I think overall it's been a very good weekend for the team."
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