Heidfeld: This is my most disappointing race.

Race stewards at the Chinese Grand Prix are to investigate the penultimate corner chaos that saw Nick Heidfeld punted out of fourth place, the German having been held up by back markers prior to being clipped by Rubens Barrichello.

With rain beginning to fall once again in the latter stages of the race and coat the Shanghai circuit in moisture, the order heading into the final lap was Heidfeld ahead of Barrichello, with Jenson Button and Pedro de la Rosa in close company in sixth and seventh.

Furthermore, Takuma Sato and Christijan Albers were both in front the train for fourth place, a battle that had intensified when Heidfeld slid wide at the hairpin when Albers, three laps down, failed to lift off, forcing him to pass using the damp inside line at the end of the back straight.

Heidfeld though found himself behind Sato for the entire final lap when the Japanese driver, two laps down, re-passed him through the first sector and continued to stay in front down the long back straight, thus allowed Button to pull up alongside as Sato braked early directly in front of Heidfeld.

With Button and de la Rosa scampering up the inside, Heidfeld was then hit by Barrichello, who had already come together with Heidfeld earlier in the lap, spinning him round and down to seventh place, while the Brazilian wrestled his Honda round the final corner to take sixth place, albeit minus a nose cone.

Inevitably, Heidfeld was fuming at the end of a race that had seen him carry the most fuel of any driver in the race, climbing ahead of the Hondas in the latter stages, despite circulating in eighth for the first part of the race.

However, he saved his harshest words for Albers and Sato for blocking him and decimating a four second lead over the following pack in the final couple of laps, although he chose not to criticse Barrichello's final blow, even if he described his race as the 'most disappointing in his racing career'.

"This was the most disappointing race of my career - not only in F1 but in my entire life," blasted Heidfeld. "Right up to the end I was certain I would be fourth, but then a few backmarkers caused trouble. The first one was Albers, who stayed on the dry line and didn't let me pass. I had to brake on the wet, almost spun, went on the grass and lost a few seconds.

"Then Super Aguri Honda driver, Sato, blocked me for almost a lap. He was fighting, although he was a lap behind, and using an advantage he had at this stage of the race due to his Bridgestone tyres. Because of this, the other two Hondas caught me and Albers and Sato were in the way. Barrichello crashed into the back of me and after this I had to be happy to make it to the finish."