Button happy despite no podium

The British driver, a winner at last following his victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix three weeks ago, enjoyed another strong day as the Japanese squad continued to make progress towards the front.

Button finished in fourth position, only 12 seconds behind race winner Felipe Massa.

"It's been a great race for the team today and it's good to get both cars in the points," said Button. "We just didn't have the pace of the Ferraris or Alonso in the Renault but we know where we're weaker and where we're losing out to them, so when we get on top of that we're going to be very competitive.

"The last stint was very strong for us. We had a lot less tyre graining and I was getting quicker and quicker. Not quite as good as my result in the last race but a good weekend nonetheless."

Brazilian teammate Rubens Barrichello also had a good day after fighting his way to eighth position following a difficult qualifying.

"I'm really happy that we finished with two cars in the points today," said Barrichello. "We had a competitive car today so it was a shame that someone pushed me wide on the first corner which lost me a lot of time. Without that incident I could have been up there fighting closer to the front.

"We had the pace and we certainly had the will today, so I think that the team certainly deserved the result as well."