Minardi brings both cars home

Neither man's grand prix was trouble-free however. Baumgartner struggled with a chassis imbalance for much of the race, while a problem with the power steering meant Bruni had to do without for the last 30. The Italian still managed to finish the race 14th, albeit three laps down, ahead of his team-mate.

"It was a tough race, particularly last 30 laps!" said Bruni. "Overall, the car was consistent and the balance was good for what we have. This was my first 'full-distance' grand prix finish and I particularly want to thank the guys for the fantastic job they did today, and all weekend. We did the best we could today with the package we have and now I hope we can go forward. I am very happy."

Baumgartner found the going tough in Sepang: "I was struggling for much of the time with a chassis imbalance - the front end was quite good, but the rear was unstable, with too much oversteer.

"I got in front of Gimmi at the start, but then made a small mistake and he got me back. One of the most difficult things this afternoon was letting people pass while still trying to keep racing. This was definitely one of the toughest events I've ever done, and I'm very pleased to have finished."

Team boss Paul Stoddart commented: "Fourteenth and sixteenth positions probably don't do justice to gutsy efforts from both our drivers today. With the reliability enjoyed by most competitors, it was the best we could do, but having said that, it's always good to get both cars home. My thanks go to the whole team, and to our partner, Bridgestone, who provided us with fantastic tyres all weekend. We now look forward to the next Grand Prix, in Bahrain, which should be equally hot."