BUDAPEST, Aug 2, 2008 (AFP) - Defending world champion Kimi Raikkonen of Finland admitted a driving error blew his chances of a competitive qualifying position on Saturday.

The Ferrari driver will start Sunday´s Hungarian Grand Prix in sixth position, three places behind Brazilian teammate Felipe Massa.

Raikkonen said: "I made a mistake on my final flying lap which cost me precious time, and that followed on from not having got a great lap on my previous attempt, which explains why I´m sixth."

However, Raikkonen knows he will have a hard task ahead of him but is determined to try to rise to the challenge.

"Of course I am not happy, and starting from the third row my race will be an uphill struggle," said the Finn.

"I will try and make the most of this situation, given that the car today was not that bad. We are going through a bit of a difficult time but we mustn´t give up.

"All we need to do is put together all the pieces of the jigsaw and then the results will come to us again."