Kimi Raikkonen has refused to rule himself out of contention for the world championship despite another setback at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver led the vast majority of the race before crashing out on the penultimate lap shortly after being passed for the lead by McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.

Prior to the weekend Raikkonen admitted he needed to win at Spa to stay in the title race – but despite falling 19 points behind leader Hamilton the reigning champion is determined to keep a faint hope alive.

“I came here to win and I came close,” he said.

“It’s the second race in a row that I’ve failed to score points.

“Clearly the championship situation is what it is, but I’m not the sort to give up that easily.”

Raikkonen’s race-ending crash occurred when he ran wide out of the fast Blanchimont corner and lost control on a damp patch as he rejoined.

“In the final laps the track conditions were very critical, and unfortunately I ran wide and when I tried to get back on track I spun and ended up in the wall,” he said.

“It was a shame because today the car was working really well.

“I got a good start and managed to pass Felipe [Massa] on the straight and then overtook Hamilton when he spun at the start of the second lap.

“On the soft tyres, I could run at a good pace, while the final set, the harder ones, was not quite there – definitely not as good in performance terms as those I’d used in the past couple of days – and the balance of the car was not as good as earlier.

“The arrival of the rain definitely did not help.

“In these conditions, if you are in front you have to be more cautious as you don’t know how much grip you’ll find in each braking area.

“That’s how Hamilton managed to close on me and then you all saw what happened.”

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali added: “We are very disappointed for Kimi, who had driven a great race and deserved the win, especially at this rather difficult time.