Vettel relieved after first race finish

The Toro Rosso driver had retired from the first four races of the season, three times on the opening lap.

And although Vettel was unable to escape trouble in Istanbul, the German at least managed to see the chequered flag, albeit classified 17th and last.

"I had a good start and then, all of a sudden I realised I had a punctured rear left tyre, so I had to pit immediately," explained Vettel.

"My second problem came at the first pitstop, when the refueling rig had a problem, no fuel went in, so I had to come in immediately again.

"From then on it was a tough race and I could not have done any better. At least I saw the chequered flag."

Teammate Sebastien Bourdais retired from the race when he spun off on lap 25. The Frenchman said something had failed in his car.

"Something broke at the back of the car, I don't know what it was yet," he said. "Going into Turn 12, I braked at the usual point and the car went sideways, I felt the right rear corner of the car drop and it spun me round.

"It's a shame, as up until then it had been going quite well and I was just about hanging onto the Toyota in front of me and keeping the Renault behind me. Of course, the problem at my pit stop with the refuelling had not helped."