Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was left disappointed to have only finished fourth at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, admitting he was "pretty much in nowhere land".

Raikkonen endured a quiet afternoon in Melbourne and remained in fourth place for much of the grand prix, apart from a brief spell leading the race while other drivers around him pitted. The 2007 world champion ultimately finished over 22s down on his Ferrari teammate and race-winner Sebastian Vettel.

"It's a bit disappointing where I finished but we know what we have to do," Raikkonen said. "At least we finished, after quite a few years where we didn't finish this race, but it's obviously not the ideal start.

"This is not one hundred per cent what we wanted, but I take it. Even if it's disappointing I'm pretty happy we understood quite a lot of things over the weekend. It came a little bit late yesterday but that's how it goes sometimes.

"It's one race out of many, we just need to put things where they should be and go from there. We have a strong package, it was a good race for the team, we won the first race, so we have a lot of good things and a foundation to build from."

Raikkonen said that while he had no specific problems during the race, he struggled to get the most out of his opening stint on the ultra-soft tyre having suffered with understeer.

"I think already yesterday we suffered a bit with understeer in the car and it was a similar story today on the first set of tyres. Once we put the soft tyres on, the car turned to be very good and I was very happy but, obviously, at that point we were pretty much in nowhere land.

"There was quite a bit of fuel saving too but I guess it was the same for everybody. Once I pushed the car was fast and I think already yesterday we understood what we are lacking. It was too late, we were a bit of a step behind after Friday and Saturday, and we ended up in this position."

When asked if he believes it is possible for Ferrari to record one-two finishes in 2017, the Finn replied: "For sure it is, when we'll put things in perfect order. It's good for him [Sebastian Vettel], good for the team and, like I said, we have a good base, a good car, but there's a lot to work on. It's a long championship and we just have to see how it goes."