Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene says it was "impossible" for Kimi Raikkonen to claim a Malaysian Grand Prix podium after he sustained damage in a collision with Nico Rosberg in Sepang.
Rosberg barged past Raikkonen while the pair diced for position late in the race, bumping into the side of the Finn's car and removing part of his front wing. Rosberg was handed a 10-second time penalty for the incident -- something Mercedes boss Toto Wolff labelled "complete nonsense" -- but was able to open enough of a gap over Raikkonen in the final laps to claim third position.
Ferrari boss Arrivabene says the damage Raikkonen sustained meant he could not keep within the ten-second margin of Rosberg at the end.
"In the impact with Nico, he lost part of the floor and lost part of the front wing," said Arrivabene. "From the calculations we have now with the engineers, he lost more or less 10 points [of downforce] - so it was quite impossible for him to catch up in this situation.
"But having said so, he was making a very good lap even with damage in the car. We tried from the pitwall to do all our best also with the strategy, but the others were doing the same - we were aggressive, they were aggressive, we slowed down, they slowed down.
"So it is a pity that Kimi was not able to go to the podium. But after the impact, all the chances they were gone."
Not making the podium was especially damaging for Ferrari as Red Bull claimed the maximum 43 points with a one-two, a huge boost in the battle for second in the championship. The other Ferrari did not make it past the opening sequence of corners, with Sebastian Vettel also colliding with Rosberg at Turn 1 and retiring from the race.