Raikkonen will start last at Montreal

Raikkonen simply carried too much speed into Turn 1 in his McLaren, tried to catch the car but succeeded only in spinning it into the tyrewall at the entrance to Turn 2. The McLaren thudded into the tyres backwards, and although he got going again the rear wing was knocked askew, and the team told him to park the car before he did any more damage to it.

"Of course I'm disappointed," said Raikkonen. "I ran wide at the first corner as I had a bit more understeer than in warm up which I wasn't prepared for. The exit of the corner was very slippery and I hit the kerb and went off the track.

"I'm not sure yet how much damage was done to the car, but I don't expect it to be too much. I don't know what will happen in the race tomorrow but I know that anything is possible and that we will all do our best."

The team suffered a double whammy as Raikkonen's team-mate, David Coulthard, could only manage the 11th fastest time.

McLaren team principal Ron Dennis said: "The outcome of today's qualifying will require creative strategy by the team if we are to leave Canada with significant points finishes. However we have faced similar challenges before and the team and the drivers have proved their ability to respond."