McLaren leaves with nothing

"I'm extremely disappointed, as we could have won today," opined Raikkonen. "I made a textbook start from pole position, was able to control the race and was pulling away until I had to retire with engine failure. I had no indication that it was going to happen and the car was feeling great. However, that's motor racing and we now have to focus on the French Grand Prix.

"The gap to Michael [seven points] can easily be closed with a good result and that is what we want to achieve next weekend."

Coulthard was also a little less than happy on Sunday evening, saying: "During the race, I was benefiting from what was happening at the front and was making good progress. In the latter part of the race, I was fighting with Alonso for fourth and there were a couple of incidents, one in particular at Turn Eight - the RTL Curve - when I ended up on the grass.

"A few laps later, I was forced to take evasive action to avoid running into the back of him as he braked incredibly early into the chicane and that was the end of my race. I have my own views on the incident which I will discuss privately with him but, at the end of the day, it's for the race stewards to decide."

Team chief Ron Dennis was sanguine in defeat: "Our drivers' comments and the obvious outcome of the weekend say it all. With seven races to go, our objective will be to put today firmly behind us and concentrate on the remainder of the season, and we mustn't lose sight of the fact that we have a very competitive package."

Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug was equally disappointed:"Kimi was clearly ahead when engine failure and he did everything right during the weekend so I feel very sorry for him. With regards to David's incident, it looked as though Alonso slowed very suddenly and David had to take evasive action to avoid having a high-speed accident."