Kimi Raikkonen has refused to throw in the Formula One towel, despite seeing world championship leader Lewis Hamilton stretch his lead over the Finn to 19 points.
Raikkonen crashed out of the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa on the penultimate lap on Sunday to end the race pointless.
Raikkonen started the race 13 points behind Hamilton but the Englishman’s six points has opened up that gap.
And with Brazilian Massa just two points behind Hamilton, the chances of Raikkonen overhauling the deficits to both drivers in the five remaining GPs look less than slim.
“I’ll fight to the end,” said Raikkonen. “I’ll do everything to win, for the team and 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 and so I’ll give everything, I’ll push to the limits.”
“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.”
“We’re going back to the track immediately for the Italian GP. Monza is the Mecca of Ferrari’s tifosi and I think that there will be a lot of Finnish fans, too. It’s the fastest track of the year and it’s good to go there, knowing that I can count on a car, which runs how I like it.”
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