Coulthard: It's good to be back

In the early part of the race the McLaren driver was overtaken by both Trulli and Button, but swift McLaren pit work, and a pass on Jenson into Turn One, moved him into a podium position.

"It's good to be back on the podium that's for sure," said the Scot. "I finally passed Jenson when he made a mistake at the last corner. However, with Jarno Trulli I had to be patient with the pitstops. It's great to be in the points and I'm now looking forward to the start of the European season."

Coulthard's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen also had a good scrap with the Renaults and looked to be on course for fourth place. However, with just a couple of laps remaining a component broke on his car and pitched him into the gravel.

"It's a pity that I didn't finish the race," he said. "My car suffered a wheel hub failure with three laps to go and that cost me three points."