The Queanbeyan driver demonstrated his capabilities, setting the fastest lap time of any driver, but his race failed to improve when he was forced to pit twice on the first two laps.

Webber didn't participate in qualifying after crashing out in practice, damaging his chassis which needed to be rebuilt.

And any hopes of charging through the field from the back were dashed when Webber's headrest came loose on the opening lap, forcing him back to the pits.

The same problem occured on lap two, but the 33-year-old re-emerged and drove out the race until the end.

``We tested some things today, and tried some other items for future races that's all we could really do from there,'' Webber said.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel had a much better weekend than his teammate, winning the race from pole position.

The result kept Vettel's slim drivers' championship hopes alive, while Red Bull move to 35.5 points behind Brawn GP in the constructors' standings.

Vettel now sits two points behind second-placed Rubens Barrichello, and 16 adrift of leader Jensen Button.