Vitaly Petrov's upgraded Caterham car helped the Russian driver to show his best at the German Grand Prix, he was quoted saying by the team website.
Petrov had a largely uneventful race including a brief battle with Red Bull’s Mark Webber before dueling wheel-to-wheel with his Caterham teammate Heikki Kovalainen late in the race.
The Russian came out on top after a thrilling battle through several corners and eventually finished 16th as Fernando Alonso stretched his lead in the Formula One championship with an imperious win.
"I am pleased with my performance today. It was a pretty quiet race for me and the car felt good right from the first lap, so I think I got as much out of it as I could today," Petrov said.
"It's encouraging that the car did feel better today."
Petrov spent the last few laps fighting Bruno Senna in a faster Williams car, and said he was happy with his performance.
"The last stint was particularly good - I knew Senna was on the softer tyres behind me and I had to make sure I stayed ahead, so I just focused on getting it to the flag without making any mistakes and I'm pleased for the team with where we ended up."
Petrov became known for a comparatively aggressive overtaking instinct and during his first two years in the sport with Lotus before dropping to the back of grid with Caterham for 2012.
He became the first Russian in F1 in 2010 and took the only podium of his career with third place at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last year.
Petrov got his best result of the season with 13th in last month's European Grand Prix.
