Romain Grosjean surprised to finish on podium so early in Formula 1 comeback

The Lotus driver, who had scored his first points in F1 in last weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, completed a sensational day for his team after team-mate Kimi Raikkonen finished in second position.

Although Grosjean lost out to the Finn on track, the Frenchman admitted he was delighted with the result.

"It is great, a great feeling so far," said Grosjean. "I am very proud of the team, of what we did. We knew we had a good car but I think we were a little bit surprised at the beginning about where we were.

"It turned out to be not too bad in the end and I think our car is very competitive. I think we can be very happy with what we did. The first points is one step and the next step I thought it would take time but we can be happy and have a week off to enjoy."

Grosjean, the first Frenchman to finish on the podium since Jean Alesi in the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix, said Lotus can be proud of its effort after a strong start to the season.

"I think we are doing some pretty good stuff. The team can be proud of what we did because with the season being so tight, getting the car near the front is hard," he said.

"We have two cars on the podium. The first podium feels pretty good. We will feel even better when we are back in the plane home and are able to relax and go to factory and work."