Michael Schumacher delighted to achieve 'maximum result' possible in India

Schumacher made up several positions on the opening lap, then jumped his team-mate by staying out slightly longer at the final stops.

"I am obviously happy about the race today," he said. "We achieved the maximum that we could hope for, and as a team we maximised our potential. Fifth and sixth places are a great result for us. On top of that, my car was very nicely sorted for the race and very stable.

"At the start, everything worked out according to my strategy as I deliberately didn't want to use KERS in the first two corners and save it for the long straight where I knew that I could make up some positions.

"In the second stint, I managed to maintain my tyres so I could stay out longer and that was enough for fifth place."

He added that the most encouraging aspect was that the result proved Mercedes was continuing to make good progress.

"What's really important at the moment is that we keep pushing and trying to improve, and that is what we achieved today," said Schumacher.