Kimi Raikkonen believes the over-flexing of his front wing was likely linked to an issue first seen at the Chinese Grand Prix.

The unique design of the Alfa Romeo, with the outer sections of main elements flattened down, has caught the attention of several teams this year, with some expected to develop their own variation.

On Sunday morning, the FIA ruled that the wing had exceeded the permitted five millimetres of flex during a scrutineering test and the Finn was excluded from qualifying.

“I don’t know what happened, I got a message this morning,” Raikkonen said.

“Last race I had an issue at the end of the race with a broken stay on the front wing and we lost the downforce. So probably it is a similar thing that has caused it, unfortunately.

“We knew the issue after the last race but we didn’t have time to produce a new one so this is what you get.

"It surely doesn’t make us faster but this is what it is, hopefully then it’s fair for everybody.”

The demotion to a pit-lane start didn't deter Raikkonen though, as he came back through to claim the final points position in 10th.