Pleased Heidfeld rues tyre choice

German Heidfeld was one a few drivers to choose Michelin's softer compound for the weekend, and he struggled with graining for most of the race.

Despite that, Heidfeld was pleased with eighth place.

"My race was good and relatively unspectacular," said Heidfeld. "At the start I gained one position and moved to eighth. The car was good, but I had trouble with the tyres. In all three stints I had graining on both the front and rear tyres.

"I have been on the softer compound, which was certainly the worse choice for the race. However, the decision had not been easy as, due to the weather conditions on Friday, we were not able to compare the compounds on long runs."

Teammate Robert Kubica put on a solid performance to finish in ninth place, the Pole also having tyre problems.

"It was a good race and I was happy with my pace," said Kubica. "But from the beginning I struggled with grip, as I already had an oversteering car from yesterday.

"I also made a mistake, which lost me about ten seconds, because following cars here in Suzuka is not easy, especially in the quick corners. I perhaps risked too much, but I was able to come back and at the end finish very close to Nick."