Nico Rosberg admitted he had thought his hopes of a podium finish at the Singapore Grand Prix had been ruined after he was hit with a penalty on Sunday.
The Williams driver was given a 10-second stop-and-go penalty after he was forced to pit while the pit-lane was closed after the safety car had been deployed due to Nelson Piquet's crash.
Rosberg was leading after the safety car left the circuit and it took the stewards a further five laps to penalise him after which time he had built a big enough lead that when he returned to the track he was able to secure second place at the inaugural night race - his career-best finish in Formula One.
Renault's Fernando Alonso won his first race of the season while McLaren's Lewis Hamilton came third to further extend his lead at the top of the driver standings.
"At the time the team said I had to have a 10 second stop-and-go penalty, which I thought was going to come anyway, I thought it was all over," said Rosberg.
"I dropped to sixth but then they said the guys in front still need to stop so it was looking great again.
"It was then me racing Fernando. I thought I might have a chance against him but he was just a bit quick. Still it has been a great result for us.
"It felt good and we were definitely quite strong on this track which is really pleasing that we had a good chance this weekend."
Rosberg also reserved praise for the Williams team, who had worked through the night prior to qualifying to ensure his car was in top condition.
"Everything went out way for once which is fantastic for me and the whole team," he added.
"I think the team has done a fantastic job. We had some issues with some things and they fixed up a whole load of things overnight in preparation for qualifying and everything held on great, so a big compliment to them."
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