Kimi Raikkonen stayed philosophical after losing what looked like a sure victory at the French Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Finn, starting from pole position, was leading the race comfortably ahead of teammate Felipe Massa when he suffered a mechanical problem, with one of his car's exhausts becoming loose.

The problem meant Raikkonen lost the gap to Massa, who could overtake the Finn easily to win the race.

Raikkonen admitted he was disappointed, but felt lucky he managed to finish in second.

"It was disappointing in the end. We had a good car all weekend. I was on pole and leading quite easily and then I had problem with the car," said Raikkonen.

"That happens sometimes. We were still lucky to finish the race and score eight points.

"On the last couple of laps the car almost stopped a few times. So even if it's disappointing not to win I still took eight points... and I'm in a more confident position (in the championship). A great the result for the team, just an unlucky situation."

The Ferrari driver said his car was just lacking power.

"We car was slow in the straight line and out of the low-speed corners so it was difficult," he said. "But luckily we were fast enough in the beginning to go away from the others, and we had a big enough gap.

"Two more laps and we would have not finished the race. As I said it's disappointing but still eight points is good for the championship and good for the team."

He also claimed the late rain did not make much of a difference to him thanks to his problems.

"It was like having traction control. I didn't have power out of corners so it didn't really affect me at all."

Raikkonen in now third in the championship, five points behind Massa.