“Time and again, I tried to overtake Grosjean but, unfortunately, it didn't work out - either on the circuit or at the pit-stop. That my car was faster is clearly proven by the fact that I set the fastest lap three times in a row at the end of the race.

"I was running a bit uncomfortably in third because Grosjean was losing a bit of oil, and I could almost feel [Karun] Chandhok on my tail, but I could control the situation easily and was waiting for Grosjean to make a mistake. But it did not happen.

"I was closing on him, my car was working really well and the strategy was to wait for a possible safety car to pit, but it was way past mid-race when it happened. Pantano, Grosjean and I were immediately in for our stops but Pantano left in first, with Grosjean in second and myself in third. It was a surprise for us to realise that [Alberto] Valerio's car was still blocking the track, and I was delayed by backmarkers at the restart. That prevented me from having a real go at Grosjean."