Lewis Hamilton said he was satisfied to be leading the title chase after the season's first two Grand Prix races, while Ferrari's Felipe Massa admitted he does not know what happened when he spun out from second position at Sepang.

Felipe Massa (Ferrari)

"I don't know what happened - I just lost the car. There was strange behaviour on the rear, but I don't know [what caused it]."

Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)

"It was a pretty easy race from that first pit-stop really. We had quite a difficult weekend in Australia and we were not 100 percent sure it was going to be any different here. But everything worked perfectly. This is a good start to the season for us and we're in a pretty good position."

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)

"I was pushing Mark [Webber] for a long, long time but being behind someone is extremely difficult so it doesn't matter how much quicker you are, it makes it extremely difficult to get past. And then we were in with a good shot for third place and then we had the wheel gun problem at the pit-stop... I wanted to do better but I'm leading the championship after the opening two races of the season."

Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren)

"I think we have to be pleased with the result. After yesterday's penalty it was going to be quite hard for us. I would have liked to be a few positions higher, but this was the most we could do today. Early on in the stints graining was compromising our pace a little bit, which is why team kept me on track longer. It was the right thing to do as I was able to jump Jarno and bring it home."

Robert Kubica (BMW-Sauber)

"I think it is a fantastic result for the team. We knew we could not match Ferrari, but we kept pushing [then later] decided to keep down the revs and keep the engine fresh for the next race. I didn't feel all well. I was a bit sick and it was hard to keep concentration. So I was cruising to the end."

Nick Heidfeld (BMW-Sauber)

"I have mixed emotions about today's race. Of course I'm happy to have clocked up my first fastest race lap in F1, and 11 points are also the best-ever result for our team. The pace of the car was really, really good - about the same level as the McLaren. That's all very positive and makes it even more disappointing that I only finished sixth."

Jarno Trulli (Toyota)

"It's nice to be back in the points after such a strong race. At the end it was a great fight with Lewis Hamilton and we were pushing each other hard. He was obviously slightly quicker than me but I gave 100 percent and thanks to the team's good job and the trouble-free weekend we took fourth."

Timo Glock (Toyota)

"Unfortunately that was a short afternoon's work. At turn 14 I was hit from behind by Nico Rosberg: when I looked in the mirror he was further back so I didn't expect him to try to overtake where he did. He put me out of the race."

Fernando Alonso (Renault)

"I did the best that I could today and I ended with the final point. We were able see that in normal race conditions we are a little far away in terms of performance. Our goal for the moment is to try and score points at each race and to work hard in the next tests so that we can perform better."

Nelson Piquet Jr (Renault)

"I am happy to have finished the race as that was my first objective after Melbourne. I have learned a lot today and I recognise that the group we are fighting with is very competitive, but I finished close to my team-mate and that is encouraging for me. The race was difficult and the car is still not competitive enough."

Jenson Button (Honda)

"It was good to finish the full race distance today and we will get a lot of very useful information from this weekend. I'm pretty satisfied with 10th place as that is where the performance of the car is right now. We're going in the right direction and learning more about the car all the time, so we need to keep up the hard work and continue to develop ahead of the next race in two weeks' time."

Rubens Barrichello (Honda)

"Unfortunately my weekend was compromised when we lost the free practice running on Saturday morning as I lacked balance in the car for the race today. I had a lot of understeer and was battling with that throughout the race. The drive-through penalty after my second stop was unfortunate, even though I only lost one place, as the markings in the pit-lane to indicate where the speed limit ends were not clear enough."

Mark Webber (Red Bull)

"I got a really good run through turns one and two and came out in fourth position. The first stint went okay, but I struggled a bit during the second stint with poor grip. I also got stuck behind Sato at a crucial point in the race and lost around two seconds when we should have stayed in front of Heidfeld. I'm pleased for everyone at Red Bull to get two points, it's been a tough start to the year for us and it's great to get the car to the finish today."

David Coulthard (Red Bull)

"There was too much graining on my first set of tyres, so I lost nine seconds in the first part of the race, which was frustrating. It was very hot out there, but thankfully it was also a little bit overcast, so that improved things."

Nico Rosberg (Williams)

"I knew that starting from 16th I would have to take some risks to make the race worthwhile and in fact it went well off the line considering I was carrying a lot of fuel. But then I came together with Timo Glock. When he left a gap, I went for it and got alongside him. I guess he didn't see me as he turned in and I couldn't back out, which was unfortunate. The car was better today in the race but despite trying everything I tried, it really wasn't our weekend."

Kazuki Nakajima (Williams)

"From the back of the grid, we decided upon quite an aggressive strategy and I made up quite a few places from the start, but it was difficult to open up a comfortable gap. On the second stint I had a puncture and had to stop very early, which was not ideal as I had to run two short stints and a long final one. I was struggling a little in the last stint and in a high speed corner I spun off, so after that I just wanted to concentrate on making it home to get two races on the engine."

Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India)

"I think we honestly did our best here. On my first stint I was suffering a lot of understeer with graining on the soft tyres but then in my stop I adjusted the front flap and went onto the harder tyres and stayed on them for both stints. I was happy with the race pace later on though and it is promising for the rest of the season."

Adrian Sutil (Force India)

"Very early on in the race I developed a mechanical problem and had to switch the engine off and pull off the track. I am very disappointed with this start to the season, especially after I had to stop so soon into the race in Australia too."

Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri)

"It was great to do my first full distance race since Brazil and I think it went well. The boys did an excellent job and the car ran reliably all the way through the race. I felt comfortable in the car and I could push whenever I wanted to improve the lap time. I just stayed out of trouble and brought the car home in a very respectable position for the situation that we are in at the moment."

Takuma Sato (Super Aguri)

"It was good to finish the race. In the second stint I picked up marbles through the high speed section, ran wide and lost a lot of time there. On almost every lap we had traffic, especially during the last stint, so it was a pity that I couldn't pick up the pace again until the very end. But it was good to see that the car was reliable and that we have collected a valuable set of data."

Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso)

"I started to have difficulty shifting gear and with the power steering then the back end caught fire as I pulled over to stop, which can sometimes happen when everything is overheating. Up to that point I was having a reasonable race. In the first stint, I had too much understeer and some graining on the tyres. The second stint was much better."

Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso)

"I made a good start, but then I found myself stuck between two gears. I got as far as turn 4, where I was being passed on the right, then in turn 5 I found myself on the inside with someone alongside me and by turn 6 I was back on the outside and when I tried to turn to the right, I ended up on the dirty side and the car snapped away from me and I spun into the gravel. My race was over."

Eurosport