I may have lost the fight tonight, but the main battle is not over, says Ford #1.

BP Ford Abu Dhabi team leader Mikko Hirvonen has admitted that was too cautious on SS2 of the Rallye Monte Carlo.

Mikko was third fastest on both SS1 and SS2, however despite that he conceded more than 40 seconds to Daniel Sordo on St Jean en Royans and eventually finished the first leg 44 seconds off Sebastien Loeb, who took the early lead in his Citroen C4.

Speaking in service A at Valence, the Ford #1 conceded that he just didn't have enough confidence in the icy sections.

"There was a lot of ice in the final 10km of the second stage and I had a couple of scares, so I took it steadily after that. I was worried about the damp patches and the black ice and had no confidence when it looked slippery, so I eased off too much," he confirmed.

Despite slipping back though he definitely hasn't given up and Mikko remains confident he can get back in the mix over the next three days.

"Although I may have lost the fight tonight, the main battle isn't over yet. Temperatures were -3ºC so it was hard to get heat into the Pirelli tyres but they worked well and I was pleased with them," he continued.

"There are three more days of rallying in daylight to come so that will be better and I will feel more confident. I'm sure I can go faster tomorrow when I have a clearer view of the conditions and can pick out the bad areas."

BP Ford Abu Dhabi team boss Malcolm Wilson meanwhile was particularly disappointed to see Mikko lose so much time in La Cime du Mas when he was 27.7 seconds off Loeb.

"I'm surprised Mikko dropped so much time on the second stage but it's good he knows where and how," Malcolm summed-up.