Raikkonen engine blowout 'not a major deal'

Kimi Raikkonen is hopeful that his apparent engine failure in practice for the Spanish Grand Prix is "not a major deal". Friday's second session as curtailed for Raikkonen when his Ferrari spat out some smoke, prompting his team to call for the car to be switched off.

Raikkonen was able to free-wheel the car back to the pits for immediate observation, with Ferrari posting on Twitter: "Telemetry showed a malfunctioning in the power unit area."

The veteran was sixth-fastest overall, half a second down from Lewis Hamilton at the top of the timesheets as the battle between Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull looks likely to hot up in Barcelona.

Although taking new engine parts will put Raikkonen out of step with the three-engine limit in 2018, he was typically unflappable after the session.

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"I didn't feel much, we'll have to figure out what happened, we have time," Raikkonen said. "But it's okay, it's Friday, not a major deal.

"Today it looked pretty close but it's hard to say. It's like in every race, it's difficult to say it from Friday because some people try a lot of things.

"Tomorrow morning we might get a better idea. I would expect everything should be pretty similar to what it was in the first four races."

Both Ferrari cars were sporting new rear-view mirrors, mounted from the halo. The new construct also includes a winglet, which likely aids aerodynamic performance, but Sebastian Vettel said that vision, rather than speed, was the primary move for the change.

"To be honest, it helps us to see what is going on behind," he said. "That's the main reason. I think they make the halo look a little better as well.

"It is no big deal. Before, it was quite difficult for us to look at the cars behind. Now they are in a better position and I can see a little bit better below the rear wing."

Vettel has qualified on pole in each of the last three races, but he was only fourth fastest on one-lap pace in practice, behind Hamilton and both Red Bulls.

"Today I think was okay. The car balance was good," he said. "Everything we put on the car seems to work and that's important.

"It was quite slippery and gusty and it was a mixed day. I think we can improve and I know there is a little bit more in the car, and a little bit more in me. We could end up in P1 or P6."