Notes: Raikkonen confident of overcoming poor qualifying result

SAKHIR, Bahrain -- World champion Kimi Raikkonen is confident of overcoming his poor qualifying session in time for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Finnish pilot was more than three-tenths of a second behind pole-winner Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber on Saturday to finish with a lap time of 1 minute, 33.418.

Raikkonen sits fourth on the starting grid behind teammate Felipe Massa and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

"I think that tomorrow in the race, when points are up for grabs, I will be very strong," Raikkonen said. "I think we might have made different choices in terms of strategy, but let's wait and see in the race if that's really the case."

Ferrari's dip at the third qualifying session was curious considering Massa and Raikkonen finished 1-2 in both of Friday's free practice sessions. Raikkonen was coming off a win at the Malaysian GP.

"Better to wait until tomorrow before drawing conclusions," team manager Luca Baldisserri said. "We know our car is very good over a long run and we must try and get the most out of it if we want to be ahead of our rivals."

Ferrari holds one advantage over rivals McLaren and BMW Sauber: It knows the Bahrain International Circuit better than both teams after testing here over the winter.

Raikkonen trails overall leader Hamilton by three points after two races.

Bourdais aiming for points

Sebastien Bourdais barely made it into the second round of qualifying but is already thinking about points.

Bourdais reached the second qualifying session for the first time Saturday after clocking a best lap time of 1 minute, 32.915 seconds in his Torro Roso.

"If we get to the finish and others have problems, maybe we can aim to be in the points," Bourdais said Saturday after qualifying 15th for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.

The French rookie has steadily improved with every race after abandoning a prestigious Champ Car career to join the Red Bull feeder team.

Bourdais' confidence is no surprise. The 29-year-old Le Mans native won 31 races in 73 starts over a five-year Champ Car career that included four straight championships.