Williams left hoping for more

With Mark Webber having run strongly in the early stages after a stunning opening lap before stopping with an hydraulic problem, and Rosberg losing time with traffic, the team were left feeling slightly disappointed with the outcome of the race.

"It was good for Nico to get a couple of points by finishing 7th after starting 22nd due to the engine penalties," said Michael, referring to the engine changes that Webber and Rosberg had to have before qualifying.

"He drove solidly all day, putting in the lap times when it mattered and might have done even better if he hadn't encountered traffic. On Mark's car, we had a loss of hydraulic fluid although the exact cause is unknown at this time.

"Up until then, he'd done a fantastic job as well, with a really good first lap. As he was on the same pit strategy as Nico, so there is no doubt he would have finished in the top four or five."

Rosberg claimed that changes made to his car at the first pitstop transformed its handling after a tough opening stint - and that in the end he decided not to risk trying to get an eve better position as he battled with Giancarlo Fisichella.

"Ultimately I've got to be pleased with today," said the German. "Two points starting from dead last and we were pretty quick in the race. Our strategy was just perfect. In the first stint I didn't feel as comfortable in the car but after the first pit-stop, we made some changes and all of a sudden it was working perfectly.

"I could attack and I was battling with Renault and McLaren. I even thought about passing Fisichella in the closing laps, but I didn't want to jeopardise my position. So overall, I am happy but in the future we of course would be better off starting races a bit further up!"

Despite Webber's disappointment at another retirement, he believes that the team are good enough to fight near the front if they can get on top of their reliability issues.

"It was going fantastically until what we think was a hydraulics problem meant that I lost all the controls," he said.

"I'd made up seven places and I was still carrying lots of fuel, enough to get me a long way into the race, so I'm sure it would have been easy to score some points today. From here, if we fix the hydraulic problem, I am sure we will run near the front."