Heidfeld upset over another engine failure

Heidfeld was enjoying a strong race early on, and was on the fringes of the point scoring positions when his Petronas engine exploded just before the 50-lap mark.

"In my opinion we have suffered from too many engine failures this season already," he said. "Apart from this, the main problem I had today was the launch control. Usually I have good starts, but today it simply didn't work out.

"As a consequence I lost some places on the first lap and got stuck behind Villeneuve, which cost me time. Later on I was able to make up two places but the fact that I had to retire once again due to an engine problem leaves me feeling very frustrated."

Team-mate Heinz-Harald Frenzten was the first retirement of the race when the ECU failed on his car.

"The automatic gear system failed and the revs suddenly soared," he said. "There was an electronic problem between the engine and the gearbox, but the cause still needs analysing."