Fernando a deserving champion, admits Kimi.

The disappointment of losing another shot at the Formula One world title was clearly etched on Kimi Raikkonen's face during the Brazilian Grand Prix podium ceremony, but the Finn had recovered his composure in time to pay magnanimous tribute to the man to beat him to the number slot during the press conference.

Raikkonen finished second to McLaren team-mate Juan Montoya at Interlagos, but it was Fernando Alonso's untroubled run to third place that secured the crown for the Spaniard with two races still to run. Undoubtedly in the fastest car at the moment, Raikkonen could end the year with more race wins than the champion - they are currently tied at six apiece - but that did not prevent the Finn from congratulating his adversary after the Brazilian event.

"Of course, it is disappointing not to be fighting for the championship any more, but congratulations to Fernando - he definitely deserved it," Raikkonen said, "We realised there were not that many races to go, and that we needed to have really good luck to win it, so it is not really so disappointing, but it is never nice [to have to concede defeat].

"Like I said before, Fernando definitely deserves [the title]. Whoever has the most points at the end of the season, or before the end of the season, deserves it, and I don't have anything bad about it. For him, and for Renault, it was a good year. We lost it this year, but now we will try to win it next year."

Raikkonen's part in the first McLaren 1-2 since Austria 2000 helped move the Woking team into the lead of the constructors' championship for the first time this year, albeit by the slimmest two-point margin. With two races to run, both McLaren and Renault can still influence the outcome of the title, but the Finn agrees with team-mate Montoya in claiming that the MP4-20 is too strong for the R25 - on current form.

"We will do everything we can do to win that, and, hopefully, next year we will fight for both," he insisted, "We will try to win the last two races for the team and try to win the team championship. There's no point in worrying about the problems we have had, because it's not going to change anything. It wasn't perfect for me, or for the team, but unfortunately these things happen in racing and we will try to minimise them for the future."

Asked whether he could have won the race, Raikkonen admitted that the question was a little academic because Alonso had secured the title, but admitted that he would have struggled to catch and pass team-mate Montoya.

"I wasn't quick enough in the early part of the race, or after the first stop," he revealed, "Montoya always got a little gap, and it was enough for him. We got close but, of course, we saw the position with Fernando, and knew that there was no point to race after that, so we took it easy just to finish.

"It was quite difficult today, the car was not the easiest, but at least it was quick and it is fine. We got a good finish for the team and that is a good thing. I would have [tried to pass him] if I could, but I was not quick enough to win the race today."