Caterham driver Vitaly Petrov insists he drove a good race at the Canadian Grand Prix despite ending up 19th, his joint-worst finish of the year.
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton won the Montreal event to extend this season’s extraordinary run of seven different drivers winning the first seven races of 2012.
Petrov lost three places on the opening lap after a slow start and was classified below teammate Heikko Kovalainen for the third race in a row, finishing 19th to the Finn’s 18th place.
The Russian also came 19th in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in March, his best being 16th in Malaysia later that month.
"For me that was a good race," Petrov was quoted as saying by Caterham website. "I battled with my team mate right to the flag and had a couple of good stops that gave me a chance to keep the pace up through the whole race.
"Despite the track temperature, we didn't have any problems with the car, so for where we are right now that's a good afternoon's work."
Caterham remains hopeful that car upgrades will nevertheless bring better results, Petrov added.
"We have some improvements coming in the next few races and the aim is for those to help us get to a point where we can race one or two of the teams ahead - that's another positive sign of progress so we're definitely going in the right direction."
Vitaly Petrov brought millions of euros in sponsorship to become a member of Caterham's 2012 lineup after he was dropped last year by Lotus Renault.
The season continues with the European Grand Prix in Valencia on June 24.
