Nakajima frustrated after 'best drive'

The Williams driver was on course for at least seventh place after rising through the field thanks to a long first stint, but the slow stop dropped him back to 12th.

"I had a good start and a strong first lap," said Nakajima. "Everything was then going well until the second stop. What happened was a real shame as I think that was probably the best race of my career so far.

"Pace-wise, we were competitive today, so thanks to the team for a good car and a solid strategy which allowed me to beat [Kimi] Raikkonen and [Fernando] Alonso on the track. We will just have to learn from the mistake in the pitstop and hope for a better result next time."

Nakajima's team-mate Nico Rosberg did achieve a breakthrough, though, taking Williams's best result of the year in fifth.

"I am happy with fifth place and happy for the team as well because this is a good result," he said.

"I had a great start, which I have to thank my engineers for as it went exactly as I'd hoped it would, and by the end of the first lap I'd managed to make up four positions. From there, I pushed hard to get past [Jarno] Trulli, and I thought I could because my pace was good, but he had a quicker car today."

He hopes this result will mark a turning point after the team's promise went largely unfulfilled in the early part of 2009.

"I hope we can keep up this momentum and score points at every race," said Rosberg. "At the moment, I would say we can consistently be in the top eight."