Heidfeld hails 'fantastic' day

"This is a fantastic day," said Heidfeld, who survived an incident-filled Hungarian Grand Prix to finish in third position. "Not only for me but for the entire team.

"Especially as we had a rather low point after the last two races. It is also very good that Robert finished in the points. This result gives all of us enormous motivation.

"My race was good. I had to be somewhat careful with the tyres to avoid overheating, but I believe this was the case for most of the drivers today. The pit crew did an excellent job. They got me ahead of Coulthard and allowed me to be on the podium."

Heidfeld's race was not without trouble, however, especially when Michael Schumacher crashed into him at the end of the race. 

"Although it was a great race I did have two worrying moments, one earlier in the race when I went off on some gravel and then near the end when I overtook Michael Schumacher," Heidfeld added.

"He ran into the back of me and destroyed his suspension, although my steering was then damaged I knew I had an advantage so took it easy to the end of the race."

The result allowed BMW to end a negative streak of results and also to move ahead of rivals Toyota in the constructors' standings.

The German squad's brilliant day was completed by rookie Robert Kubica, making his racing debut this weekend, finishing in seventh place.

Kubica, the first Pole to race in Formula One, was unhappy with his driving, however.

"The result is good, but my driving today was not. I made too many mistakes," he said.