Heidfeld: Traffic cost me a better result

The German came home in sixth position, but claimed he was a lot faster than the result suggested.

"Although I shouldn't complain about finishing sixth when I came from ninth, I must say it is such a shame I couldn't show my pace today," said Heidfeld after the race.

"The car was so good and I could have gone a lot faster if I hadn't been stuck in traffic all the time.

"I was even saving fuel and tyres because I hoped the others would kill their tyres and I could attack later. I think some did ruin their rubber, but still this wasn't enough of an advantage to overtake.

"I had a good start during which I managed to pass Nico Rosberg. However, because of how the race turned out for me I hardly sweated at all."

Teammate Robert Kubica finished in 11th position after being hit by a stop-and-go penalty for pitting when the pitlane was closed.

The Pole admitted the race had been very hard for him and was left hoping the bumps on track will be fixed for next year's race.

"The race was physically very hard," he said. "There are so many bumps, I hope the organisers will work on the surface for next year. On top of that, the visibility was getting worse and worse as I was getting tired. Over the final fifteen laps I had an incredible headache.

"The decision not to pit on the first lap when the pitlane was closed because of the Safety Car was unlucky, and cost me a good race result as the cars behind me closed the gap. The team thought the pitlane would reopen very soon, but this was not the case. However, that's racing."