Starting  from  eighth  and  thirteenth  on  the  grid  respectively,  Christian  Klien  and  David  Coulthard pushed hard in the first race of the season yesterday aboard their new RB2s. Following a two-stop race strategy,  Christian  remained  firmly  in  the  top  ten  throughout  the  race  and  crossed  the  finish  to claim  a  Championship  point  for  both  himself  and  the  team.  On  a  contrasting  one-stop  strategy,

David  was  also  looking  good  for  a  points  finish.  However,  after  collecting  a  flat  spot  on  his  tyre when he locked under braking during a battle with Nick Heidfeld, the Scot had to endure violent car vibrations for the remainder of the race. In the closing stages, he dropped from eighth to tenth and narrowly missed out on a points finish.

But hey, considering the RB2 hadn't completed a full race distance before today - not such a bad overall result.

DAVID COULTHARD, (Car 14)

Finish Position: 10      Time: 1:31:01.746       Chassis: 3        Engine: N° 75Start Position: 13

"I flat spotted early on when I was wheel to wheel with Nick (Heidfeld), which afterwards caused huge  vibrations  in  the  car.  There's  so  much  vibration  when  that  occurs,  you  lose  visibility,  your eyes are shaking in your head and it feels like you're sitting on top of a spin drier. You can't read the pit board nor the displays in the car. The team wanted me to do an oil transfer, but I had to ask them what colour the button was that I needed to press, as you can't read anything when it's like that. It's horrible and rounds off a pretty disappointing weekend."

CHRISTIAN KLIEN, (Car 15)

Finish Position: 8       Time: 1:30:52.976       Chassis: 2        Engine: N° 79Start Position: 8

"After the problems we suffered during the winter, it's great that both cars crossed the finish today.

The first part of the race went well and I was able to make up a few positions, but later on I wasn't able to keep the same pace. The cars grip seemed to give way a little and I lost some time. I also had a problem with the clutch. It's a shame that Nico (Rosberg) overtook me in the final laps as it meant I dropped from seventh to eighth in the closing stages."

Christian Horner, Sporting Director: "Going  into  the  race  having  not  completed  more  than  20 consecutive laps, I think it was an excellent effort from the whole team. Both drivers drove well on different strategies and appeared to have reasonable pace, especially at the beginning. However the two Williams cars had incredible pace, especially after their pit stops, and we just weren't quick enough to hold them off, particularly Rosberg. But, we have one Championship point and we're off the mark. We now have to build from here."