Kimi Raikkonen may not be the Ferrari Formula 1 driver wh💎o had the most to lose - or indeed, lost - at the start of the Mexican Grand Prix, but called his getaway a "disaster" before fighting back to third place on Sunday.

Raikkonen's teammate, Sebastian Vettel, saw his title hopeඣs all but end when he collide💛d with Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton at Turn 1, leaving both cars with damage.

Amidst the carnage, Raikkone🐼n s𝓡truggled to make up ground, falling from P5 on the grid to seventh as Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez all got past.

"The initial start wasn't too bad. I got alongside Bottas, I think, but then everyone behind me had a good tow and came past me,"ꦜ Raikkonen explained.

"It was a disaster but we had some patience and enough speed to improve. Once those in front of me stopped for tyres I coul🧜d push, so we recovered wellﷺ." 

Raikkonen made use of the ⛄Virtual Safety Car to leapfrog Ocon into third place, and ended the race with a 20-second gap to Vettel behind him and an equal gap to Bottas ahead, running in a lonelℱy order.

Asked what more he could have done, Raikkonen said: "I don’t know rea😼lly, I don’t know what to say because I spent most of the race on my own. In the beginning I was stuck behind the Force India and I couldn’t get past. 

"Once he stopped I had decent speed, but I was far behind the others and it wasn’t the nicest feeling. I don’t knowಌ, I was on my own, and at that point there was nothing to do,  the guys in front of me were so far a﷽nd behind there was nobody. 

"I have to say i🦄t was not too bad. But I kind of expected to be this way after yesterday; ജI think the biggest issue was the first lap."

Asked what he thought of Lewis Hamilton's fourth world championship win, Raikkonen said: "It’s great for Le♏wis, it’s a lot of wins, a lot of championships.

"Wh🍸at can I say? We can be happy for him, but inside… I don’t know…"