The harsh realities of elite motorsport caught up with Narain Karthikeyan as his Jordan-Toyota E15 developed electrical problems and was forced to retire after only two laps in the Bahrain Grand Prix in Manana on Sunday.
The Sakhir International Circuit at the desert venue saw Renault reign supreme yet again with Fernando Alonso clinching his second title on the trot and widen the gap over the rest.
Italian Jarno Trulli in Panasonic Toyota came second and Finn Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren Mercedes picked up his season's first podium finish in third place.
Jordan however had reasons to celebrate, with Narain's teammate Tiego Monteiro coming up 10th, two laps behind the winner.
Narain, starting behind Monteiro, did well to get past more than one car in the first two laps before his race came to a premature end.
"It is really a pity that I had to retire in the race as I made a really good start and I managed to overtake a few cars," Narain said after the race.
"I was keeping up the pace but suddenly the car just stopped on the track because of an electrical problem."
Jordan Sporting Director Trevor Carlin said though the team was a little disappointed, it was happy for Monteiro's top ten finish.
"We are slightly disappointed that Narain had a problem and could not finish the race as he made up some good positions and things were looking quite good," Carlin said.
"Tiago had done a fantastic job to bring the car home in very difficult conditions. We are very pleased with our first top ten finish and we are improving at every race a little bit at a time," Carlin said.
Monteiro was happy to have emerged from the shadow of his teammate from the second most populace nation.
"It was a very difficult race because of the heat as it is not easy to control the car in such high temperatures," the Portuguese said.
Narain was still in elite company, with Michael Schumacher too retiring with a technical in the 12th lap.
Ferrari's new car F2005 that had performed well in the qualifying and seemed to give Alonso a run for his money in the initial stages came unstuck.
It was the second time that the seven-time had failed finish this season, a racing incident taking him out in the season opening Australian Grand Prix.
Rubens Barrichello took the chequered flag at ninth, a consolation for the Scuderia.
Alonso was ecstatic after claiming his career title.
"This result shows that we are dominating these first three races with three consecutive podiums and two wins," an excited Alonso said after the race.
"At the start of the race, I had a good fight with Michael Schumacher after the first few laps. But then of course I had my own race.
"I hope to come to Barcelona in a position of leading the championship. The whole package is working well. For sure my dream comes true and this is a wonderful feeling," the Spaniard said.
Final classification:
1. Fernando Alonso (Spain, Renault)
2. Jarno Trulli (Italy, Toyota)
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland, McLaren-Mercedes)
4. Ralf Schumacher (Germany, Toyota)
5. Pedro De la Rosa (Spain, McLaren-Mercedes)
6. Mark Webber (Australia, Williams-BMW)
7. Felipe Massa (Brazil, Sauber)
8. David Coulthard (Scotland, Red Bull-Cosworth)
9. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil, Ferrari)
10. Tiego Monteiro (Portugal, Jordan-Toyota)
11. Jacques Villeneuve (Canada, Sauber)
12. Patrick Friesacher (Austria, Minardi-Cosworth)
13. Christijan Albers (Netherlands, Minardi-Cosworth).
Not Classified: Jenson Button (England, BAR-Honda), Takuma Sato (Japan, BAR-Honda), Nick Heidfeld (Germany, Williams-BMW), Michael Schumacher (Germany, Ferrari), Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy, Renault), Narain Karthikeyan (India, Jordan-Toyota), Christian Klien (Austria, Red Bull-Cosworth).
Drivers' Standings: 1. Fernando Alonso (26 points), 2. Jarno Trulli (16), 3. Giancarlo Fisichella (10), 4. Ralf Schumacher (9) and David Coulthard (9), 6. Rubens Barrichello (8) and Juan Pablo Montoya (8), 8. Kimi Raikkonen (7) and Mark Webber (7), 10. Nick Heidfeld (6), 11. Pedro de la Rosa (4), 12. Christian Klien (3), 13. Felpe Massa (2) and Michael Schumacher (2).
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