Raikkonen rues nightmare start

The Finn brought out the red flags in the first of the three sessions after bouncing off at speed and scattering debris on the circuit. The McLaren's rear wing sheared off, leaving the rear right wheel trailing at an angle.

Raikkonen nursed his car back to the pits while the session was suspended, but there was not enough time for repairs.

"It is very disappointing to not even complete one timed lap as I believe that the team had a good strategy for the new qualifying system and I could have been amongst the quickest," the team quoted Raikkonen as saying.

"Although it is far from ideal to start from the back of the grid, there are overtaking opportunities at this track and I have done this before and still achieved good results."

McLaren boss Ron Dennis said the car had suffered a rear suspension lower wishbone failure caused by a manufacturing fault. Raikkonen had been sidelined in Friday practice by an electronics problem.

Under a new format introduced this season, qualifying is divided into three sessions with the bottom six cars in each of the first two 15 minute periods eliminated.

The final 10 drivers must then fight for pole position in a 20 minute session.

The Finn's teammate, Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, qualified in fifth place.