Raikkonen ready to hit back

ESPNstar.com - Wednesday 10th September 2008
Kimi Raikkonen is ready to bounce back off the ropes and come out swinging in defence of his Formula One world title. Pending an appeal by McLaren into a 25-second drive-through penalty which resulted in Lewis Hamilton being demoted from race winner to third, Raikkonen is currently 19 points adrift of championship leader Hamilton.
Raikkonen said: "You get punches and blows, but you just carry on and fight back. There is no reason for me to start worrying over what has happened to now stop trying. I will fight until the very end." He added: "The points will be counted after the final race, and the one who then has the most will win the championship. Nothing is certain before that.
"We have five races to go and obviously my position is not ideal, but that doesn't mean I will give up." Although he is not currently discussing what transpired with Hamilton, Raikkonen at least feels happier to have rediscovered the pace and form his critics felt had deserted him of late.
It is now nine races without a win, and Raikkonen added: "I didn't get the result I wanted at Spa.
"But it was great to get back in the real racing rhythm. I've finally got the feeling I wanted in the car.
"Before going to Belgium, my only real objective was to win the race. I was only interested in finishing first. Nothing else was good enough. At the end of the day I was as little as two laps and four minutes short as I spun and slid into a wall".
"Then I had to walk back to the pits like I did in Valencia, but this time knowing we had fought for the victory until the bitter end, whereas in Valencia I didn't have a chance to win but there is no reason to complain. I did my very best and it was not enough."