Sato enjoys 'fun' race despite slow pace

The Japanese driver had to fight his way up the field after losing a few positions during the opening lap when he was pushed off the track.

He recovered well, however, even overtaking Honda's Jenson Button in a thrilling move, and went on to finish in 15th position.

"It was a good race, under the difficult circumstances," said Sato. "I made up a few places at the start, but on the Kemmel straight, when I was side by side with a Toro Rosso, I was pushed off and so had to run on the 'green' and lost a lot of momentum.

"I then had to keep battling to make up my lost positions, but I had fun doing it and had some exciting moments.

"That shows how great the Spa circuit is for Formula One; that there are overtaking opportunities and that it's a challenging circuit. It's just a shame that we did not have the speed today, and that was frustrating.

"However, all-in-all I think that we have a taken a few positive notes here before we head off to the Japanese Grand Prix.".

In contrast, teammate Anthony Davidson had what he described as an uneventful Grand Prix to finish in 16th.

"It was a pretty uneventful race for me," he said. "I had to start from the pitlane after feeling a problem on the front end of the car on the out lap, so that was a shame. But I caught up with the back of the pack and really fought hard on my one-stop strategy to make the most of it, and I think we did.

"I was stuck on the prime tyre for longer than I wanted and just as the options came into the working window. From then on I just had to bring the car home. It was good to see our strategy pay off and I think that we've learnt a lot from this weekend and will move forward for the last three races."