Massa: Title chances are still alive

The Ferrari driver failed to get the best out of his tyres on his final qualifying runs and will start the Japanese Grand Prix for fifth spot - with Hamilton securing a last-gasp pole position.

But despite the blow, which appears to have dented his title hopes, Massa still thinks there is everything to play for.

"Well, for sure the chance is still there," said Massa. "We have 30 points in front of us. As I said, today the result did not look great. But it doesn't mean that tomorrow will be like that.

"So we need to keep fighting until the last lap of the last race. Now it is too early to say. We need to keep fighting and we see how the races go, and if we have managed to change the situation or not. If we can do it, it will be fantastic. If not, we will try again next year."

Massa feels that overtaking at Fuji will be possible, which could help him move up the order, and said he was not disheartened by him getting it wrong in qualifying.

"Well, we need to do our best," he said about his prospects for the race. "I was on pole position at the last race and we didn't score any points. You never know exactly what is going to happen.

"We need to see what we can do, and do the maximum that we can do. And at the end of the race we can see if we did a fantastic job, a good job or a bad job."