According to information reaching here on Monday, Karthikeyan, the 23-year old from Coimbatore driving for team Carlin Motorsport, qualified ninth on the start-grid. He was off to a blinder of a start, jumping to fifth position.

However, an overtaking manoeuvre went awry when the car in front of him shut him off in a corner leading to a collision. In the process, the front wings and the nose cone of Karthikeyan's car suffered damages, forcing him to pull out.

Karthikeyan had finished fourth in the first round at Donnington Park last month, but the following week, was forced off the track and could not complete the race at Silverstone.

Meanwhile, 19-year old British driver, Jenson Button (Promatecme Dallara), won the race after holding off a strong challenge from Luciano Burti of Brazil, who, however, packed upimmediately after overtaking Button, due to mechanical problems.