Further woe for McLaren

Raikkonen went out on lap eight after a spectacular engine failure, while Coulthard was on course for a point when the pneumatic system of his motor failed.

"Definitely not the outcome any of us would have liked," said team principal Ron Dennis. "Both Kimi and David could have finished in the points today but to do that you have to finish. However the entire team will continue the efforts to optimise our package and whilst we have had a difficult start to the season I'm confident that we will improve."

Coulthard said: "A disappointing outcome after an extremely unsatisfying couple of days in Bahrain. I had a few good battles during the race but as has been the case throughout I lacked speed. Another points finish would have been possible but at the end I lost air in the pneumatic system of the engine. I came into the pits to see if we could do something to rectify the situation but it proved impossible and that was the end of that."

Raikkonen added: "It's been a difficult weekend for me and the entire team. I started the race from last but made a good start and gained quite a few places during the first couple of laps. I was battling with one of the Jaguars for 11th but all of a sudden I lost power and my engine went. There is not really anything else I can say or do. I just want to forget this weekend and look forward to the rest of the year."