Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen has dismissed suggestions he is suffering from flagging motivation, insisting he remains determined to fight back in the championship battle.

The world champion�s recent inconsistent form has provoked criticism from both the media and some paddock observers, while speculation persists that the 28-year-old is considering retirement at the end of his Ferrari contract in 2009.

Last Sunday�s European Grand Prix prompted further questions about the Finn�s performances after he was again comprehensively outperformed by team-mate Felipe Massa and knocked a mechanic over in the pit lane during his final fuel stop � before an engine failure compounded his misery.

But despite falling 13 points adrift of championship leader Lewis Hamilton in the drivers� standings, Raikkonen is adamant he has both the necessary time and desire to remain in the title hunt.

�We knew we had to take a risk for Valencia and we did not finish the race,� he told his official website.

�It�s a shame, but it�s useless to grieve for that.

�One third of the season is still left and it�s enough to fight back.

�If somebody has doubts concerning my motivation, let them doubt.

�One thing I can say is that right now I am more motivated than ever.�

While keen to move on from his disappointing Valencia weekend, Raikkonen � who qualified with three laps more fuel than pole-sitter Massa � did concede he and the team probably got his strategy wrong given his poor recent qualifying form.

�The Friday practice was good � I had a good feeling in the car,� he said.

�But Saturday was a little bit cooler and we struggled again in qualifying.

�We should have been more aggressive.

�Obviously there has been a lot of talk about my qualifying problems.

�But in Hungary I just went wide on my last lap of Q3. Without that we would easily have been third. Then we got the fourth place and after that I knew the race would be very difficult again.�

He now hopes that next week�s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, a venue where he is chasing a fourth consecutive victory at, is the place to start his title fightback.

�I love that circuit, and obviously, I would love to race there for the whole year long,� he said.

�It�s the best of all the circuits and hopefully we finally get the car working the way I want it to work.

�We go to Spa to win again.�

Blogged with the Flock Browser