Kimi: 'I would have won'

The Finn was on course for victory before the disaster struck with a clear pace advantage over the Renault of Fernando Alonso, who had never, up until that point, stood on the Monaco podium.

"Things just didn't go my way today," he the 2005 Monaco GP winner. "Our strategy would probably have meant that I would have been able to take the lead after the second series of pitstops, but we really lost out when the safety car came out."

The V8 engines were running right on the limit on the principality's tight streets and the air itself was having a cooling effect from sheer speed of the naturally aspirated cars and when the safety car came out, Raikkonen suffered a heat-shield failure from the decreased ventilation.

"There was a small fire caused by a heat shield which damaged a wiring loom and that was the end of the race for me," he said. "It's always disappointing to retire both for me and the team, but it's particularly hard when you all know that you are in with a good chance to win."

Despite Raikkonen's DNF, his McLaren finally showed some competitive pace - even appearing help up by the Renault. Team-mate Jaun Pablo Montoya gave the Silver Arrow team some encouragement with his second place but the Colombian's car was nowhere near Alonso's pace.

"From where we've been in the last few races, it's shown that McLaren and Mercedes have stepped up their game quite a lot and we're fighting [Renault and Ferrari]," said the Colombian. "The car was good, and I think we could have won today if things had gone our way.