Kimi Raikkonen says his Alfa Romeo team was aware of the potential problem with his front wing which led to his disqualification from qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Raikkonen revealed he had a damaged front wing at the previous race in China but the team was not able to address the problem which led to the failure before this weekend’s race.

His front wing did not pass a deflection test after qualifying, which led to him being disqualified from the session.

“I don’t know what happened, I got a message this morning,” said Raikkonen. “Last race I had an issue at the end of the race with a broken stay on the front wing and we lost the downforce. So probably it is a similar thing that has caused it, unfortunately.

“We knew the issue after the last race but we didn’t have time to produce a new one so this is what you get. It surely doesn’t make us faster but this is what it is. Hopefully then it’s fair for everybody.

Raikkonen’s disqualification meant he started the race from the pits. He finished the race in tenth place. “We need to do things better a little bit better here and there,” he added.

@Josh5Holland contributed to this article.

Don't miss anything new from RaceFans

Follow RaceFans on social media:

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

2019 F1 season