Shoulder problems hamper McNish

McNish elected to run a two-stop race but had a tough afternoon.

"My left arm was dead by the end," he explained, after needing help to climb out of the cockpit. "The seat was pressing into the muscle and for the last 20 laps it was pretty excruciating to negotiate right-handers. We will have to do something because it was a new seat for this race.

"The car was pretty good at the start but then I had a problem at the first pit stop with the left front wheel, which set us back a bit. And I think that a one-stop strategy was maybe the better move."

Mika Salo wasn't sure about that. The Finn did choose a one-stop strategy but that bred its own problems and he had a difficult afternoon from the moment the lights changed at the start.

"We agreed to take a chance on a one-stop race but from very early the tyres we chose were suffering from the heavier fuel load," Salo said. "That caused handling problems, which is why I went off three times at the first corner. I had to pit earlier than scheduled and for that reason I was forced to stop again for tyres later on."

Ultimately he was stopped nine laps from the end with a gearbox problem.