Heidfeld Blames Traffic, Balance

With teammate Mark Webber effectively out of contention on the opening lap following a collision with Takuma Sato, Heidfeld appeared to be in the running for a top eight finish in the early stages.

But after losing time stuck behind some two-stopping cars after the first round of pitstops, Heidfeld was then slowed by a balance problem towards the end.

"I had a good start, making up two positions," said Heidfeld, who eventually finished 11th. "In the beginning it was not bad and I could clearly keep the pace of Michael Schumacher and Button who were both just in front of me.

"I was unlucky after the pitstop, just falling behind some two stoppers and I couldn't go at my own pace anymore. I actually think the biggest problem was that at the end of the first stint something in the rear of the car changed and affected the balance. I was never able to do the lap times after that.

"Towards the end of the race I had a bit more oversteer and also the engine power was turned down as there was nothing more we could gain. I am disappointed because I thought we could score some points today."

Teammate Webber pitted after his collision to fix the damage to the rear suspension and, although losing 11 laps on the leaders, he rejoined the race to try and gain a better qualifying position for Hungary.

The gamble did not really work, however, with the race's only retirement being Kimi Raikkonen so he only moved up one place.

Webber said: "I don't know what I've got to do this season to get some luck.

"At the first corner after the start I got hit at the right rear by Sato and had suspension damage. The mechanics replaced the part quickly, but obviously by the time I went back on track I was 11 laps behind the leader.

"This compromised my race of course, but it will also affect qualifying for the next race, as I will have a very early start slot."