Fisichella happy to regain third place

Fisichella took the lead of the race when Renault teammate Fernando Alonso struggled with his tyres after the first pitstop.

The Italian driver was followed by Michael Schumacher, but he lost his position when he ran wide at the end of the first corner following his second pitstop.

Fisichella then lost second to Alonso and went on to finish over 40 seconds behind.

Third place, however, allowed him to jump ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa in the championship standings, and Renault to leapfrog Ferrari in the constructors'.

"At the beginning I was heavier than everyone else and struggling with the grip, but just tried to keep the car on the track and keep a good pace," said Fisichella. "I kept the same set of tyres at the first pitstop and the grip level was good and I was able to be maybe the most competitive on the circuit.

"Then we went with the dry tyres, it was quite difficult, there was not much grip and we decided to go down the revs and save the engine for the next race. It was a good position for me because I am third in the drivers' championship."