Kovalainen glad after strong race recovery

The McLaren driver started the race from tenth place after he was given a five-position penalty for impeding a rival during qualifying on Saturday.

Kovalainen recovered well, however, and fought hard with Toyota's Jarno Trulli for a place on the podium.

The Italian defended well though, and the Finn had to settle for fourth, his best result since the second round of the season in Malaysia.

"Given yesterday's grid penalty, this was a very good result," said Kovalainen. "It also shows that we had a great strategy to be able to come from 10th on the grid to fourth at the finish.

"During the first stint I lost a lot of time trying to get past slower cars; but, after that, fortunately, I was able to overtake, build a cushion and close the gap to the guys in front.

"The car felt fantastic throughout the whole race and the Bridgestone tyres worked really well. During the closing laps, I found myself behind Jarno and tried everything I could to overtake him, but I just couldn't quite make it. He defended third place very well, so well done to him for that."

McLaren team boss Ron Dennis added: "Heikki had a brilliant afternoon, driving superbly and fighting all the way to the chequered flag, and only narrowly missed the podium."