Esteban Gutierrez apologised to his Sauber team after the 'most painful mistake' in his career.

Sauber has struggled in 2014 but Gutierrez was in eighth place when he clipped the inside barrier at La Rascasse, causing terminal damage to his C33.

Gutierrez's shunt, combined with other results, left Marussia's Jules Bianchi in ninth place - a result which means Sauber is now behind Marussia in the championship.

"Unfortunately, I could not finish the race," he said.

"It was probably the most painful mistake in my career.

"I touched the guardrail in Rascasse on the entry to the corner and spun, that was the end of the race. Today we had a great chance to earn some points. The start was great, as I was able to gain some positions during the first few laps which gave me a good basis for our race strategy.

"During the race I needed to take care of the tyres, but we also had to push because we had quick cars coming from behind. It is very disappointing. I really want to say sorry to everyone in the team because they all did a great job today."

Adrian Sutil also exited the race early after he crashed under braking for the chicane.

"I had quite a good start" he said. "In turn 5 one of the other drivers spun, and as I came around the corner many cars were suddenly stopping in front of me. I had front wing damage which forced me to make a pit stop.

"I went back onto track almost at the back end of the field, but I was able to gain some positions lap by lap. Unfortunately, coming out of the tunnel I made a mistake when braking, lost the rear and crashed into the guardrail. Certainly, I am very disappointed and I also feel sorry for the whole team."