Monteiro Angry at 'Kamikaze' Drivers

The incident led to Monteiro suffering a right rear puncture, which was subsequently changed.

By that stage, however, he was too far back from the rest of the field to have any real impact in proceedings.

"This is another finish for me, which is good for my record and the team," said Monteiro. "The car was again very reliable.  Unfortunately, we are paying the price for kamikaze drivers around us at the beginning.

"I know this is part of racing but this is annoying. I had a great start, gained three positions and then someone punched my rear tyre at the braking point. After that, the race was pretty boring for me.

"I was pushing like crazy to try to catch up as much as possible. The car felt OK; I had a little bit of understeer but generally it was good.  I am sorry for the team for the start as they really did a good job."

Teammate Narain Karthikeyan finished in 12th after driving what he believed was the most consistent race of his F1 career.

"I had a decent start I think, avoided the mayhem at the first corner and gained a few positions," said the Indian. "Then I kept on pushing throughout the race. It was physically the toughest race of my life but I also drove the most consistent race of my F1 career.

"My lap times were always steady.  I have done well for the last two races and hopefully for the rest of the season this will continue."