Raikkonen: My position is improving

Although the Finn has recently been outperformed by McLaren's Hamilton and his Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa, he gained ground on Hamilton and overtook Massa with his third place in the Hungarian Grand Prix.

And though he says he has kept himself in touch and can be on top at the end of the season, the world champion recognises that he needs to be at his best for the rest of the year.

"This season shows that you should never give up," he said. "There were some races where things didn't go well for one reason or another, but I was able to collect some precious points.

"My position after Hungary is better than it was before the race. We haven't lost anything, but we need to get better results consistently. From now on, every single race will be extremely important and every single point will have a great value, the fewer there are the more important they become.

"I think the championship will be very tight, but I need to have at least one point more than my competitors after the last race. This is the sole aim, the rest is just details."

Raikkonen is looking forward to this weekend's race on the new Valencia street circuit and believe he will be able to learn the track quickly on Friday.

"I've only seen the new track from an on-board camera and it seems to be very fast for a street circuit," he added. "I always love to drive on new tracks and I'm always very quick to know them, I can't wait to race at Valencia.

"It will be more important than in other places to drive with continuity from Friday on. Qualifying will be extremely important, although I think there are some possibilities to overtake.

"If it's hot, that will help Ferrari. Like at Montreal, you also need a bit of luck and I hope that it will not end for me as it did in Canada."