Raikkonen very critical of track problems

Drivers complained about the lack of grip at Turn 10, where the surface began to break up, leaving debris which made the cars lost grip.

Although the marshals tried to sweep the debris off the racing line before the final qualifying segment, Raikkonen said the issue cost him a chance of fighting for pole.

The Ferrari driver finished in third place, nearly a second behind pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton, and the Finn slammed the track as a "joke".

"The car has been good all weekend but this morning was even very good and going into qualifying is quite a joke with the circuit," said Raikkonen. "The circuit breaks down and it is like you missed the corner because there is so much sand.

"I lost so much time in Turn 10 I couldn't turn around and went straight on. We had the car to fight for qualifying (pole).

"We will see how it is in the race but it will be a nightmare. We have a lot of laps and it broke up after two laps so it will be interesting."

He added: "I have a very good car all weekend, then suddenly because the weather heat up a little bit and the circuit didn't last very long. The problem is black patches, they redo it every year and every year they break down."