Raikkonen happy to help Massa

Kimi Raikkonen says he was happy to give second place to Felipe Massa in China and will "be glad" to help his teammate again in Brazil next weekend if Massa is in a position to win the title

The Finn ran second for the majority of last weekend's race at Shanghai but was unable to challenge Lewis Hamilton for victory and allowed Massa to pass him for the two extra points for second place in the final stint of the race.

"Once you don't fight for the title any more, it doesn't make a difference if I come in second or third, as long as the points for Ferrari remain the same," said Raikkonen.

"I gained the best possible result in China, considering that we couldn't fight for the win. We had the possibility to win, but our race rhythm was not high enough. The car didn't run too badly, but it wasn't at 100 per cent either.

"Hamilton was faster than us on the first laps immediately after the start and after the pit stops. We could have made up ground on the long run, but it was too late."

But Raikkonen has been encouraged by his performances in the last two races, particularly in qualifying.

"For once, I came back home from a race with a positive feeling," he said. "The best part of the two races in Japan and China is that I was competitive in qualifying again. The car behaves the way I like it and that's why I managed to start from the front row at Fuji and at Shanghai.

"I was glad to be back on the podium, I needed a good final stage of the season. The positive end gives me the possibility of a good winter and a good starting point for the next season."

He returns to Interlagos with fond memories of last year, when he overcame a seven-point deficit to beat Hamilton to the title - the same gap as there is between Hamilton and Massa this season.

"Now we're heading to Brazil, where I had the best weekend of my life last year - I'll never forget that moment," Raikkonen added. "Going back will charge me even more I guess.

"We'll try to repeat our 1-2 from last year and then we'll calculate the outcome of the standings and see where we are in the two championships. I'll have the same approach as in the last two races - the qualifying will be fundamental and it would be nice to start from the front row once more.

"I'd be glad if I could do something for Felipe, that he can win the title and Ferrari will be again victorious in the constructors' championship in the last race of the season."