Liuzzi happy to finally finish a race

The Toro Rosso driver had not seen the chequered flag since the second round of the season in Malaysia, having retired in the last nine Grands Prix.

The negative streak finally came to an end on Sunday, with Liuzzi crossing the line in 15th position.

"Overall, this was actually quite a good race from my point of view and the most important thing is that I finished," said Liuzzi. "I had some problems with a harsh upshift in the first stint and towards the end I eased off a bit to look after the engine.

"It was good to see the chequered flag. I had a strong race but unfortunately the finish position is not so good, but hardly anyone stopped ahead of us. I am happy to have driven without making any mistakes. I had some good fights with Fisichella at the beginning and then with others at least for a few corners.

"Even though it is such a tough circuit I felt fine at the end."

Teammate Sebastian Vettel had tough day and finished down in 19th place after stalling his engine during his pitstop.

"I had a good start and got away well, but as I upshifted through the gears I lost a bit of momentum," Vettel said. "Especially in the first stint I was unable to match the pace of those ahead, particularly down the straight.

"Apart from that, my biggest problem was at the pitstop when the engine stalled, so we had to re-start it and I was then in neutral instead of first, so it cost me a few seconds.

"Overall, it was a tough race, and we have to see now why we were not able to run at the pace we had expected. Now, I am looking forward to having my first proper test with the team at Monza next week.

"As for today, I would prefer to feel a lot more tired than I do, but be much higher up the order!"