BUDAPEST, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Felipe Massa's Formula One title hopes suffered a setback on Saturday when Ferrari failed to refuel his car in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Brazilian ended up 14th on the starting grid after missing out on the final session.

"I made a mistake at the final corner on my first run but then, when I came back to the pits, there was a misunderstanding over refuelling and they let me go without fuel," said Massa in a team statement.

"That's why I stopped and had to be pushed back to our area by the mechanics.

"I went back out again but the tyres were very cold and I was not able to do a time good enough to stay in the top 10."

The Brazilian, winner of two races this year, had been quickest in Saturday's final practice and looked like challenging for pole position until the misunderstanding in the second qualifying session.

He stopped in the pit lane and had to be pushed back to the garage.

Massa is third overall and 11 points adrift of McLaren's championship leader Lewis Hamilton with seven races, including Sunday's remaining.

"I expect a very difficult race as this is one of the worst places to start from a long way back," he said.

"From what we have seen today, I don't think I could have been on the front row but third place would have been a realistic target."