I don't know why I was pitted then... - Raikkonen

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Kimi Raikkonen has hinted his pit-stop from the lead of the Monaco Grand Prix came earlier than he would have anticipated after losing out on victory to Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

The Finn came into the street race hunting his first win since the 2013 Australian Grand Prix having qualifed on his first pole for almost a decade, a position he converted into a solid lead during the first-half of the race.

Though he initially managed a safe gap to team-mate and championship leader Vettel in the opening laps, he came under pressure during a tricky period picking through backmarkers.

However, when Raikkonen was pitted on lap 34, Ferrari left Vettel out for three more laps during which time the German upped his pace to make his stop on lap 37 and resume in front and go on to win. Showing his evident disappointment on the podium, Raikkonen admits he is unsure why he ultimately lost out when he had the initial advantage.

"I don't know why they pitted me then, I just finished the race. Obviously they had reasons, as in any other race, but I cannot really answer that.

"Those are the rules and we all know it. We go with those but obviously I don't know what happened other than we had 1 and 2, I got a less good result that I was hoping."

Asked whether he could have stayed out, though Raikkonen refuses to pin blame on Ferrari explicitly suggest it prioritised Vettel with its strategy he says he could have run longer.

"I'm a driver, I can do whatever I want. I can stop the car if I want to. We work as a team and if you don't believe in how they work - it's very complicated - we always try to work as best as we can.

"As a team we wanted a one-two, we got it, but for my side it could have been better. We'll talk about it, I'm sure there are reasons for everything in life. As a driver I can do what I want but we work as a team - as simple as that."

With his form slumping after he lost out on the lead, Raikkonen also admits he was simply looking to bring the car home rather than attempt to challenge Vettel for the win.

"I had nothing to gain [sic]. I had nothing to worry about at that point, I lost the position so I just brought it back today."