The Finn had been on course for a potential podium finish when he was stopped with a suspected turbo failure.

As he came to a halt in the pits, flames shot out of the air box before being extinguished by marshals and team personnel.

Although Ferrari had been hopeful in Melbourne that the damage to his engine was not extensive, it would only know for sure during factory inspections this week.

That analysis has confirmed that the retirement was caused entirely by a broken turbo.

The team has been relieved to find out that the flames did not cause damage to the internal combustion engine nor the MGU-K, which means he will be able to start in Bahrain with the same original unit.

The Finn will, however, need to use a second turbo unit.

An early switch to a second engine would have opened the scenario of Raikkonen perhaps facing engine penalties in the closing stages of the season for using more than five power units.