Raikkonen: F1 title defense is out of my hands

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Kimi Raikkonen wants to salvage a win from the wreckage of his Formula One world title defense.

Ferrari's Finnish star started the season favorite to retain his crown, but he has only won twice all year, the last victory coming at the Spanish Grand Prix in April.

His loss of form has perplexed the F1 paddock and has left him playing second fiddle to team-mate Felipe Massa's gripping title fight with Lewis Hamilton, of McLaren.

But Raikkonen is hoping to end his five-month win drought, starting at this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix.

"The most important thing is to win again," he said. "The situation in the championship is what it is and it doesn't depend anymore only on my results, but of my competitors' results. In theory it's not over yet, but I don't have it under control anymore.

"We'll give it our best at Singapore, so that we can fight for the win, which still remains the main objective.

"We have to give it all in these four races and then we'll see what's going to happen. I've said it many times: victory is the only objective, the essence of motor racing. I'm not just here for driving, but I want to win."

Since Spain, Raikkonen has suffered from a mixture of reliability woes, bad luck and unfavorable weather.

And unlike in 2007, when he overturned a 26-point gap to Hamilton going into the second half of the season, the 28-year-old has been unable to get the 2008 car handling to his liking.

"Last year, in the second part of the season, we had a great set-up for the car and I was able to win many races," he explained.

"It was much more difficult this year, especially as far as the tire temperature is concerned. When the temperature is right, the car is very competitive.

"Monza was a bad weekend for me, but afterwards we had a good test session at Mugello. The car had a very good set up in the last two races on the dry track and we've tested some new solutions, which will improve the performance."

Meanwhile, championship leader Hamilton believes qualification will hold the key for Sunday's first ever night race at the Singapore Grand Prix due to a lack of overtaking opportunities.

The McLaren driver's first impression of the street circuit is that passing will be at a premium, meaning much will hinge on Saturday night's qualifying, due to begin at 10 p.m. local time.

"Overtaking is going to be very tricky, as it is at all street circuits," Hamilton told the Associated Press on Thursday. "There will be a little bit less overtaking than at the other circuits we have.

"It's going to come down to qualifying."

The lack of potential passing will take little away from the Singapore spectacle, with F1's first ever night race to pass through the downtown marina district.

Added to that is the constant threat of rain in tropical Singapore, combined with the floodlights to make the most challenging of driving conditions.

"We are driving at 200 mph with lights flashing in our eyes and we will have to see how we deal with that," Hamilton said.