Kimi Raikkonen was grateful for the "gift" provided by Lewis Hamilton that allowed the Ferrari fans to salute their hero.
Hamilton's last-lap smash with third place in the bag in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix promoted Raikkonen onto the final step of the podium for his fourth successive top-three finish, behind a Brawn one-two as Rubens Barrichello led home Jenson Button at Monza.
"I am happy to have made it to the podium again, even if this time I needed a heavy dose of luck," said Raikkonen. "It was a little bit of a gift but it doesn't matter. It all counts and good points for us.
He added: "It's a nice result for the championship, for us and for our fans here at Monza. It was good for them to be on the podium."
Given Raikkonen's typically downbeat nature, though, he could not help but bemoan just how far he finished behind the Brawn duo, who were 30 seconds ahead.
"It is a bit disappointing to drive as well as you can every lap, not really making any mistakes, and still finish quite far away from the first two," said the 2007 world champion.
"It is not the perfect position for me or the team but at least we scored some points, which we needed.
"I think we got the most out of the car over the weekend. We just didn't have enough speed. We are going to keep pushing as hard as we can but we know there are cars quicker than us.
On his Ferrari debut, Giancarlo Fisichella finished just outside the points in ninth after starting 14th on the grid, which was not the performance he had dreamed about prior to the race.
The 36-year-old Roman said: "Naturally, I'm upset I went off the track in final practice, which prevented me from being as prepared as possible for qualifying. Starting a bit further forward might have seen me finish in the top eight."
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