Raikkonen surprised to survive Baku thriller

Kimi Raikkonen admitted he was fortunate to finish an action-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix after taking an unlikely second-place finish. Ferrari veteran Raikkonen clashed with Esteban Ocon on the opening lap in Baku, but was most surprised to survive a clash with a wall at "full speed" afterwards.

Raikkonen had to pit after sustaining tyre and wing damage in a collision with Ocon at turn three on the opening lap, ending the Force India drivers' race in the process.

Having spun out of what looked like being a pole lap on Saturday, Raikkonen had fought his way back to sixth when the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen crashed.

Sebastian Vettel's failed move on Valtteri Bottas after the restart and the Mercedes man's unfortunate puncture suddenly left Raikkonen with second place, and the 38-year-old was as surprised as anyone.

"We destroyed the front wing and right tyre but then they changed the front wing so I didn't check the car at all," Raikkonen said.

"Then also, I think on the first lap, after the restart, on the little kink, coming on the last part of the straight, I hit the inside wall at full speed so I'm pretty lucky that the front wheel didn't go.

"I was expecting to go quite fast but I was lucky. It felt OK, the car, honestly.

"I struggled a bit with the tyres sometimes but apart from that I'm sure there wasn't big damage."

Raikkonen arguably has not enjoyed the kind of results his performances have deserved in 2018, but the Finn was typically guarded on his fortunes across the year.

"I wouldn't say that I have had a lot of luck over the years, but I don't count on luck," he added.

"You cannot count on that. I think you get what you deserve in a way and sometimes you are a bit luckier than other times but if I take over the years, I'm far from on the positive side yet.

"Maybe certain things worked in our direction but then whatever happened in front of us are self-made issues in many ways.

"Stay out of trouble in this kind of race and definitely knowing what happened last year, it's going to pay off."