David Coulthard (image)...

David Coulthard (image) was seventh, when a driveshaft broke. Team-mate Mark Webber then retired from a points-paying position five laps later with gearbox trouble.

The Renault-powered cars have yet to score a point this season. And team boss Christian Horner said: “We need to get on top of these reliability issues very quickly, as obviously they’re unacceptable. However, we have continued to make progress.

“David was a candidate for driver of the day. He overtook more than 10 cars and looked set for a strong finish. Mark made a good start and pushed (Giancarlo) Fisichella very hard in the first stint. But he lost time in the second stint due to a fuel flap failure, and ultimately retired.”

Coulthard revealed: “We’re going through some growing pains at the moment, but we’ll be stronger when we come out of the other side.” But Webber added: “It’s frustrating. The pace was good, but the result is the same as in the previous races.”