Senna ruled out of main race

The Raikkonen Robertson Racing driver was defending seventh place from ASM's Nico Hulkenberg when they collided on the entry to Mandarin Bend.

Senna's car smashed into the barriers on the right hand side and was launched into the air over Hulkenberg's right rear tyre before crashing into the barriers on the left.

The impact left Senna shaken and, after complaining of pain in his left hand, he was taken to hospital for precautionary checks. Doctors discovered that he had badly bruised his left thumb, which is enough to prevent him from racing.

Even if he had escaped injury, however, his car was too badly damaged in the hefty impact to be repaired in time for the main race tomorrow afternoon.

Speaking to autosport.com, Senna said: "It is disappointing, especially for the team. It would have been great for me to win this race or have a great result in Macau, but I was doing this for the team.

"I felt that I had more experience now and I felt I could do better, but unfortunately I don't think everything went our way.

"Still, in the race I was going to finish in a good position. With my experience I would be able to set the car up better for tomorrow and go for a better result, but Macau is always full of surprises."