Alesi happy with day's work

"Considering the circumstances I feel very happy to have finished in the top 10 for my first race with Jordan," said the Frenchman, drafted in from Prost after the sacking of Heinz-Harald Frentzen. "It was also good that I could take the opportunity to overtake the Jordan and was able to push hard as the car felt good.

"It was a really tough race for me as I was learning things about the car all the time and trying to remember which buttons to use and work with a clutch on the steering wheel as opposed to having a pedal. I was trying to look after the front and then the rear tyres and then each set after the pit stop.

"To bring the car home without any troubles was a good end to a very exciting weekend for me," he added.

Despite quitting the struggling Prost team, he did not manage to improve on his best result with them - three points results and four other finishes inside the top 10 in the opening races of the year.