Pascal Wehrlein has hailed his tenth place finish at the Austrian Grand Prix "incredible" and a "great reward" for everyone at Manor.
The German started a best 12th on the grid and went on to finish tenth, but it wasn't plain sailing for Wehrlein after he lined up in the wrong grid slot, which would have been punished had he not managed to correct his mistake by reversing backwards.
The 21-year-old then admitted that during the race he felt "quite dejected" after he dropped down to last place after the Safety Car was brought out for Sebastian Vettel's stranded Ferrari, forcing him to switch strategy.
"At one point I was feeling quite dejected, because we were a little unlucky with our strategy in relation to the Safety Car," said Wehrlein.
"I’d just pitted, so when I came out after my second stop, I was last. That wasn’t such a great feeling, but we just had to work with what we had, which was Soft tyres all the way to the finish – 40 laps!
"To finish the race in the points from that position by running for more than half a race distance on a single set of tyres is an incredible achievement."
On scoring his first point and the team's first since Jules Bianchi in 2014, Wehrlein said it was proof that the team was making progress.
"It’s incredible. I’m so happy! It’s just been one of those weekends and to end it this way is a fantastic reward for everyone.
"It’s very important. Not just because of what it means for our position in the championship, but it also shows that we have made real progress.
"It’s been a step by step process, and one that hasn’t always been visible to people outside of the team, but today is a good day and a really great reward for all of us."
