Virgin reflect on chaotic Grand Prix

The Dinnington-based team once again brought both cars home, with D’Ambrosio and Timo Glock classified 14th and 15th.

During the race both drivers were fighting for position with cars from several teams and were able to avoid any contact in the often chaotic conditions.

The team initially benefited from the wet set-up chosen earlier in the weekend, but ultimately in the drying conditions the resulting lack of top speed, coupled with worn and flat-spotted tyres, left both drivers unable to defend their hard-earned positions.

D’Ambrosio had failed to beat the 107 per cent time in qualifying but was allowed to start after swsitching to the spare car following his crash at the end of second practice.

He said: "It was just an unbelievable race. We were in a racing situation for about four hours. I’ve never experienced anything like that. There were quite a lot of ups and downs but it was a great race and really good experience for me."

Team-mate Glock added: "I think it’s one of the longest races I’ve ever raced in! It was a bit of a shame in the last part of the race as I had quite a good pace and I managed to catch and pass Trulli. But then I had a massive lock-up on both front tyres which cost me badly at the end."