Fisichella happy with race pace

"I think we honestly did our best here," said the Force India driver, who went on to finish in 11th position.

"At the start I had a lot of wheelspin and lost a lot of positions, I don't know why but we have to look into it.

"On my first stint I was suffering a lot of understeer with graining on the soft tyres but then in my stop I adjusted the front flap and went onto the harder tyres and stayed on them for both stints.

"I am happy with the race pace later on though and it is promising for the rest of the season," the Italian added.

His teammate Adrian Sutil had another day to forget, retiring with a mechanical problem after just seven laps.

It was the German's second retirement in a row.

"Very early on in the race I developed a mechanical problem and had to switch the engine off and pull off the track," he said.

"I am very disappointed with this start to the season, especially after I had to stop so soon into the race in Australia too."