Fisichella philosophical after more bad luck.

Away from all the euphoria of Fernando Alonso's win, Renault team mate Giancarlo Fisichella is looking forward following the qualifying engine problems that recurred in the race and forced him out of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Seemingly continuing the awful luck he suffered throughout 2005, Fisichella complained of a lack of power after qualifying and the electrical problem returned soon after he left the grid.

Despite managing to stay in a points paying position for some time, the loss of 50bhp told its own story down Bahrain's fast stretches, with the Italian the second slowest of all the cars on track through the speed trap at 297.3kph, compared to Alonso who was quickest at 308.3kph.

Having survived the pit stops with much cursing being heard down the team radio, Fisichella's race suddenly came to an end soon after when a hydraulic problem saw him finally loose all power on lap 21.

"I had the same problem as in qualifying," a dejected Fisichella said, "with a big loss of power on the engine. It was OK for the start of the race, but then I just lost power all the way through the rev range and the car was much slower on the straights. I was still able to fight with the cars around me, but I was a long way from the potential we could do with full power. Then I had an hydraulic problem which forced me to retire."

Pat Symonds was full of sympathy for Fisichella and took the time to praise his pace considering his engine problems. "We have apologised to Giancarlo for the engine problem, which left him something like fifty horsepower down from his maximum. But when you take that into account, he was driving an exceptional race."

It was a frustrating start for the Italian who has spent much of the winter period stating his desire to take on team mate Alonso and beat him to the title. However, having won the first race in Australia last year before his season took a turn for the worst, Fisichella claims that his poor start this year could signal an upturn in fortune for the coming races.

"Last year, I won the first race then had a difficult season. This year, I hope it will be the other way round - a bad race then a lot of good results!" Starting with this weekend in Sepang."