Nightmare home race for McNish

The Scot was forced to retire on the spot and was annoyed that his race had ended before it had begun. On a TV interview during the race, McNish said that he was angry that a problem he had suffered at the San Marino GP had occurred again. But after the race, he had changed his tune.

"Basically the lights went green and there was a problem with the clutch and the engine stalled," he explained. "It was not the same problem we had in Imola.

"We tried to get the car back in the garage but we couldn't and by the that time we were outside of the 90 percent time you need to be classified, so the race was over.

"Needless to say I am extremely disappointed, not only for myself and the team but for the fans supporting me here at my home race."

His team-mate Mika Salo faired little better having qualified an excellent eighth. "I didn't get a good start and lost a position by the first corner, but things seemed okay," he explained. "Then the rain started and our lack of downforce really showed and we struggled for grip. I had a small spin and at the end there was a problem with the transmission, something broke in the drive train and I stopped.

"Very disappointing after such a good qualifying yesterday."