Raikkonen says he will never give up

The Finn, who has not won a race since the Spanish Grand Prix in April, was fighting for victory at Spa last Sunday, but ended up crashing out on the penultimate lap.

Raikkonen is now 19 points behind Hamilton with five races to go.

The Ferrari driver insisted it was win or bust for him at Spa, and claimed he is not yet ready to give up on the title despite his situation.

"Obviously that wasn't the result we were looking for at Spa, but it was great to be back to fight for the title," said Raikkonen. "Finally I had the right feeling with the car and the Spa circuit is just the most beautiful track for a Formula One race.

"I had just one goal when I came to Belgium: victory. I just wanted to win the race, anything else would not have been enough for me, also because it meant that my competitors could have widened the gap.

"There's no point in complaining now. I did my very best, but it wasn't enough. These things happen. It's the same in ice hockey or in motocross: you give and you take, but you never give up.

"I'm not worried about what happened and I won't give up: I'll fight right until the end. The points will be counted at the end of the season: there are still five races to go. My actual position is not ideal, but as I've said many times I'm not someone who gives up easily."

Raikkonen feels Ferrari will have a competitive weekend at Monza and the world champion is eager to score his first win at the Italian team's home.

"We had a very productive test session on this track before Spa," he added. "I think that the F2008 can be really competitive: after the qualifying we'll see if it was enough.

"We'll give it all to win, for the team and for the fans. This is Ferrari's home race and it would be fantastic to win the Italian GP for the first time. I've got nothing to lose, so I'll give it all, going flat out. "