A podium was on, says Kimi

The Finn was running as high as third at one point before trouble kicked in and forced him to make two pitstops. While the team did not expect Raikkonen to even finish the race, his sixth place was scant consolation to the McLaren driver who had a podium in his sights.

"I did score some points today, but I'm still a bit disappointed as I strongly believe I could have finished on the podium," he said. "We have taken a step forward with the MP4-19 and were able to run reasonably competitively, but it was not to be. We had a strong race strategy, the car was handling well, and I was able to really attack. However I was forced to make two unscheduled stops as the team had to top up the pneumatic air system on the engine with additional air, which at the end cost me quite a few positions."

Team-mate David Coulthard was also forced to make an extra pitstop after a piece of polystyrene got stuck beneath his car.

"It was a difficult Sunday for me, but at least both Kimi and I managed to finish the race and score some points," said the Scot. "In the early stages I picked up some debris, which damaged my deflector and upset the balance of the car, which made it difficult to handle for the rest of the Grand Prix. Towards the end of the race I had to make another stop as a piece of polystyrene had lodged itself underneath my car, which the mechanics had to remove."

The US Grand Prix is expected to be the last race for the struggling MP4-19. The team are due to release their new MP4-19B at the French Grand Prix on July 4th.