Kimi Raikkonen believes he would have created a chance to overtake Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel for third at the Chinese Grand Prix had it not been for a late safety car.

Raikkonen started sixth but worked his way to fourth by the end of the first lap and Ferrari weighted his strategy to allow him to attack at the end of the race. He was closing on Vettel in the final stint, but with three laps remaining Max Verstappen's Toro Rosso ground to a halt and the safety car was deployed, neutralising the race until the chequered flag.

"Overall I had a pretty good car," Raikkonen said. "It's the first time this year when there was no damage on any part of the car, which was quite nice. With the safety car in the end, I was catching [Vettel] and I probably could have had a try at least, but it is what it is and part of the race.

"It's not ideal for the team but we have to realistic with where we are right now from where we started last year. We know what we are doing and we keep working in the same way then since the end of last year and I'm sure we will get there. At some races we might be closer, but after yesterday's mistakes it was more or less the maximum.

"It's good for the team but we are not happy to be third and fourth, we really want to push for first and second and for the win. We just need to keep pushing the way we have been."

Asked if qualifying was still his main weakness, Raikkonen said: "Obviously it doesn't help to put yourself in a more difficult position for the start of the race. It's never easy to overtake and in the end, as I said, I probably could have at least tried [to pass Vettel], but there was a safety car. This is what it is and after yesterday we at least gained some positions and we had a pretty good car."