Felipe Massa has promised to put aside the disappointment of the pit-lane mistake that ended his hopes of victory in the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday and challenge hard for the drivers' title.

The Ferrari driver had started the historic night-time race on pole and was looking to overhaul Lewis Hamilton's one-point lead in the drivers' standings when he came into the pits for refuelling. Massa was incorrectly given the green light to leave while the fuel hose was still attached and had to stop at the end of the pit lane for the hose to be removed before rejoining the race at the back.

Massa finished in 13th place, while Hamilton was third, behind Fernando Alonso, to open up a seven-point lead on the Brazilian.

"It is hard to deal with losing in this fashion," Massa said. "It was a race that was within our grasp with a car that was just the way I wanted. We had a good strategy and all the signs were there that we could get a one-two finish. But things can change in a moment and that is what happened."

Massa refused to blame anyone for the incident. "One of our guys made a mistake but we are only human," he said. "Each one of us always tries to do our best and these things can happen. We have the potential to do well and we will give it our best shot. We mustn’t give up and I’m sure we won’t."

On a poor weekend for Ferrari, the team's second driver, Kimi Raikkonen, crashed with four laps remaining to effectively end his slim chances of retaining his title. It was the fourth consecutive race when the Finn failed to win any points and leaves him 27 points behind Hamilton with three races to go.

"It was a pretty small chance anyhow," he said of his title chances. "I’m not sad for my fifth place but I’m sorry for the team to lose those points." McLaren, Hamilton's team, have now overtaken Ferrari in the constructor's championship.

"I am not used to giving up and I will do my very best to try and help the team reach its targets," Raikkonen said, suggesting that he will be under orders to help Massa in the remaining races.

Raikkonen crashed as he tried to pass Timo Glock to lift himself into fourth position. "I was trying to attack Glock in case he might make a mistake but I went slightly wide at the chicane, jumping over the kerb, and when the car landed I lost control and ended up in the barriers," he said.

Alonso's win was his first of the season but Flavio Briatore, the team principal of Renault, said that the two-time former world champion had still refused to commit himself to another year with the team. The Spaniard has been linked with a move to BMW Sauber.

"It’s not a victory that changes a situation," Briatore said. "We have a good relationship with Fernando, we are talking together, and we will be happy with his decision.

Alonso would only say that he was taking his time to enjoy the win. "I think I need a couple of days to realise we won a race this year," he said. "It seems impossible all through the season to be close to the top guys and here suddenly we have been competitive from Friday. It’s fantastic."