Massa delighted with maiden podium

After running a strong third in the opening stages, the switch to scrubbed tyres in the final stint left him struggling slightly for pace as he closed in on Fernando Alonso - and at the same time came under intense pressure from Kimi Raikkonen right behind him.

"Yeah, the last five laps were not so easy because I was getting closer and closer to Fernando and Kimi was getting closer and closer to me, because I was getting very close to Fernando and I lost performance, for sure," explained the Brazilian.

"But anyway, I think it was a great result, I'm really happy, first podium and everything worked fantastically for us this weekend. We brought the right tyres, for sure. The car was working perfectly and the race was very good."

Massa admitted he was overjoyed at the result, which came after a run of disappointments for him in recent races.

"I'm really happy - it was a great result  for us and especially with my first podium. The whole car was quite strong, especially at the beginning when Michael and me were both pushing Fernando and then suddenly they got the pace.

"My car was quite consistent all race and the tyres were working well. Only in the last stint - where I had scrubbed tyres - was it not working so well. It was a great result, helps the team out for the championship and especially me and Michael for the fight.

"In the first three races we were not on the pace, so hopefully now there is a chance for us to fight with Renault for the races."

Massa's podium also crowns an almost perfect weekend for his manager Nicolas Todt, who saw his ART GP2 team take a double victory thank to Lewis Hamilton's efforts at the Nurburgring.

"They won both races in GP2 and finishing third for Nicolas is really good and for Jean, it's definitely a fantastic job," said Massa. "We're now getting closer to Renault in every race and fighting every race is very important for us.

"Hopefully now we will get the right direction to fight every race."