Third placed Heikki Kovalainen, Hamilton and Raikkonen celebrate top three qualifying finish

Kimi Raikkonen broke out of his slump by qualifying on the front row for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix, only for title-chasing Ferrari team mate Felipe Massa to take a step back.

Reigning Formula One world champion Raikkonen was second on the timesheets behind McLaren's overall leader Lewis Hamilton but Massa could only qualify fifth.

While the "ice man" returned to form, with his first front row placing since June, Massa's championship hopes were dented when McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen and Renault's Fernando Alonso lapped faster.

Missed opportunity

Massa trails Hamilton by seven points with three races remaining.

"It is nice to be back," said Raikkonen.

"I don't have much to lose. I will do the best job I can for the team.

"I'm still not where I want to be, it's been fighting, fighting all the time with the car but little by little we will get to where we want to be in the end."

Kimi Raikkonen chats to his support crew

Flying Finn

Raikkonen, who overhauled a 17-point deficit to win last year's title by a single point from Hamilton, is 27 points behind the Briton this season and effectively out of the frame.

The flying Finn has been ordered by Ferrari bosses to raise his game after a run of four races without a point to assist Massa and Ferrari's bid for a 16th constructors' title.

"I don't look at the championship that much now.

"I think my chance is as small as it was last year but it seemed to happen so I will just try to win races," he said.

"I think that we should have a strong car tomorrow and we will see if we can win.

"We definitely want to go for wins in the last three races, and see where we end up."

Late finish

Raikkonen's hunger has been called into question after failing to win a race since the Spanish Grand Prix in April but the 28-year-old said he wanted to finish the year on a high note.

"It has not been easy lately in the races but we have done a lot of work and finally we have got a little result," said the winner of 17 grands prix.

"We are in a good place for the race and it is a good place to start with tomorrow.

"I'll just try and win some races and finish with a nice three last races of the season".

Missed opportunity for Massa

Hamilton on form

Hamilton, who leads the standings by seven points from Massa with three races remaining, starts ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen on the front row in Fuji after a late charge in the qualifying race.

"The title is obviously within my grasp," Hamilton said after securing his sixth pole of the year and 12th of his 33-race career.

"We're in a perfect position to score as many points as we can.

"I just have to keep the car on the road and bring it home."

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