Trulli 'Extremely Happy' with Fifth Place

Italian Jarno Trulli was delighted after finishing in the points for the second race in succession at the United States Grand Prix.

"Very happy. Good race, good start and good result in the end, thanks to the car's reliability," said Trulli after the race, where he finished in fifth place. "We had a very good strategy, also, very smart. One stop, which paid off at the end of the race. I was lapping very well.

"I was holding up with a reasonable gap (Jacques) Villeneuve away from me, and in the end, we came out with two points. I'm extremely happy because in two races in a row, I'm scoring points. I look forward for Japan."

The Renault driver had already finished in a season-best fourth place at the Italian Grand Prix two weeks earlier, and today's result allowed the French squad to consolidate in fourth place in the Constructors' Championship.

It was also the second consecutive point-scoring finish for Trulli at Indianapolis.

Teammate Jenson Button, on the other hand, was unable to finish in the points and had to be content with eighth position.

"I think anything out of the points is always disappointing," said the Briton. "Not fantastic. We did the best we could from 14th on the grid, and I don't think it's too bad. The circuit conditions seemed to be changing quite a bit.

"The car didn't feel too bad. It was just difficult to overtake here, and I was in 14th."