Several hours after the end of qualifying and there is still every chance that the grid could be amended as Giancarlo Fisichella has officially complained to race stewards, claiming that Jacques Villeneuve blocked him in the second part of qualifying.

Having missed the cut, Fisichella walked down to the BMW garage where he remonstrated with the 1997 World Champion, claiming that the Canadian, on his out-lap, had deliberately blocked him.

"For me, Villeneuve's behaviour was unacceptable," said the Italian. "As drivers, we know that if you are on the out-lap, you give way to the guys coming past on their quick lap. But Villeneuve didn't move over, and held me up all the way through the final sector and I lost a lot of time.

"The man's behaviour is unacceptable," he added later, still clearly rattled. "He is a world champion and it was unprofessional driving."

Consequently, Fisichella has called on race stewards to disallow Villeneuve's fastest time, which would no doubt see the BMW driver lose several grid positions.

At the time of writing (19.25 local time), the stewards have yet to make a decision.