Vitaly Petrov described himself as "ecstatic" after becoming the first Russian to stand on a Formula One podium in Australia.
Fast start takes Russian to podium finish in Melbourne
Vitaly Petrov described himself as "ecstatic" on Sunday after becoming the first Russian to stand on a Formula One podium following his third-place finish in the Australian Grand Prix.
Petrov sprayed champagne alongside race winner Sebastian Vettel and second-placed Lewis Hamilton after finishing ahead of the likes of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Red Bull's Mark Webber in Albert Park.
Importantly, Petrov made a fast start which got him up from sixth on the grid and past both Alonso and McLaren's Jenson Button at the first corner.
Running a two-stop strategy, he also managed to get by the three-stopping Webber to grab a result which serves as a tonic for the Renault team after their star driver, Robert Kubica, was injured in a rally accident pre-season.
"I'm delighted to be here on the podium, especially after the winter that we had as a team, which was very tough," Petrov said.
"Even during testing we didn't really know where we were compared with the others, but we continued adding new parts to the car this weekend, and they worked pretty well.
"I made a great start today, which was probably the key for my race because it got me ahead of Alonso and Button, and I was able to run in some clean air and push hard, as well as looking after my tyres.
"Our two-stop strategy was clearly the right decision and we made it work. I have to say a big thanks to everyone in the team for working so hard and for supporting my over the winter.
"This result is for all of us and I'm totally ecstatic."
Surprise
The team's innovative R31 car, which features a front-blown exhaust to improve downforce, had been tipped as a potential dark horse pre-season.
However, even technical director James Allison admitted that third place came as a surprise.
"I would be lying if I said I thought we'd earn a podium like we did today, but Vitaly's place looked very good in qualifying and we knew we were competitive," he said.
"We thought we were in with a shout of a good fight with the Ferraris, and we did exactly that.
"Going forward we will have more aero updates for the car in Malaysia, which are worth a few extra tenths. It should allow us to build on our strong showing today."
Kubica's stand-in Nick Heidfeld, meanwhile, could only finish 14th after qualifying 18th but blamed his result on a first-lap collision.
"I'm obviously disappointed not to finish in the points, but it just wasn't possible, especially after I got hit on the first lap," he said.
"It's a shame because I had made such a good start from 18th to 12th by the first corner."
