Kimi Raikkonen is optimistic about his chances of a good result at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix after finally getting to grips with the 2014 Ferrari.

The Finn has struggled to compete at the front of the grid since returning to the Scuderia, and despite only finishing eighth in Singapore, he was heartened by his car's performance.

Raikkonen told Ferrari's official website: "In Singapore, we finally had the speed to put together a quick single flying lap in qualifying, as the car behaved the way I had been hoping for.

"It was just a shame we could not maximise the performance of the car because of a minor issue before the last flying lap. It meant we could not do much in the race, as I was stuck in traffic and could not exploit my pace.

"But for me, the positive thing that weekend was I finally had a good feeling from the car, something I had been waiting for a long time this year."

Raikkonen currently trails teammate Fernando Alonso by 79 points in the drivers' standings.