MILAN: Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen said on Wednesday that he needed a miracle to retain his title following a disappointing Italian Grand Prix.

With four races left, the Ferrari driver is fourth with 57 points - 21 points behind McLaren's championship leader Lewis Hamilton - after finishing ninth at a rain-swept Monza last Sunday.

He lags teammate Felipe Massa by 20 points and is seven behind BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica.

Raikkonen has failed to win any of the last 10 races, and for the first time in four years, has not scored a point in the last three.

By his own admission, the Finn knows he needs a miracle, but will continue to fight to the bitter end even if it appears to be a lost cause at this stage.

'This sport can be really hard to digest,' he said. 'You push and you give it your all, but nothing seems to go your way.

'It's been a long time without a win for me, and the list of races without points is growing.'

Raikkonen, who won the title last year after making up a 17-point deficit in the final two races, refused to give up his championship hopes.

'You don't have to be Einstein to understand that this is not the right way to fight for the title,' he told Ferrari's website. 'It's not over yet but now, it will take a miracle, like one that makes lightning strike twice.'

As at the preceding round at Spa in Belgium, Monza saw Raikkonen struggle to find any grip in the cool, damp conditions. Only when the track surface dried late in the race was he able to show his true pace, clocking another fastest lap, his ninth of the season.

The strong likelihood of rain falling at the last four races in Singapore, Japan, China and Brazil only adds to Raikkonen's growing frustration.

'I didn't lose my driving ability in the wet, but when you don't have any grip under certain circumstances, there's hardly anything you can do,' he said.

'You can just try to stay on the track and hope that the situation will change, as happened at Monza. At a certain point, it was as if a light had been turned on and I could attack in every corner but by then, it was already too late.'

Massa, who finished sixth at Monza, a place ahead of Hamilton, is now just a point behind the Briton in the standings.

But Raikkonen, who signed a new deal with Ferrari until 2010 last week, is still reluctant to commit to helping his teammate.

'Things are definitely not going my way,' he said. 'Sometimes it happens, but that won't lower my spirit or my determination. I want to try and win again this season.

'You never know what will happen in a race and you can't make any programmes. Obviously, the team have two goals to reach (constructors' and drivers' championships) and they will give their best to reach them.

'I will give my best...as usual.'

Raikkonen hopes that Sunday week's SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, F1's first night race, will suit him better after blaming his tyres' lack of grip in the wet for his problems in Italy.

'It seems as if it is going to rain at every remaining race. We had enough water at Monza already...the atmosphere (in Singapore) will be very exciting and the hot and humid weather might work to our advantage,' he added.