Trulli disappointed with sixth

However, the Renault star's fortunes changed after his first pit stop, after which the handling of his R23B went away, leading to him being slowly shuffled down the order to his eventual finishing position.

"On the positive side, I scored three more points," said Trulli, "but it's a disappointing result given where I qualified. The car was perfect at the start of the race, and I was pulling away from Raikkonen, but both safety car periods cost me.

"After my first stop, the car's handling changed, and I lost grip all the way round the circuit. I was pushing hard all the way through the race, and had to fight hard to defend my position: it was right on the limit a few times, but always fair."

Technical director Mike Gascoyne reckoned that Trulli's problems could be attributed to his lack of straight-line speed produced by the Renault engine - the team's Achilles heal so far this year.

"The two safety car incidents ruined our race," said Gascoyne. "Jarno was pulling away from the cars behind and, when he was in the lead, things were trouble-free. As soon as he fell back into traffic, though, his lack of straight-line speed hurt him and he lost places."