Force India's Vitantonio Liuzzi and Adrian Sutil finished 15th and 17th respectively in the year's final Grand Prix at the Yas Marina circuit yesterday, leaving the Vijay Mallya-owned outfit on 13 points at the end of the Formula One season.

Mallya was more than satisfied with the effort.

"Though getting some more points here would have been a fitting end to the season but all the same both drivers gave it absolutely everything until the final lap and I couldn't have asked for more. It's been an excellent season for us. We have achieved our objectives andu00a0 more and can only build on this over the winter into 2010," said the team principal.

Sutil meanwhile blamed a technical problem for his below-par-showing in Abu Dhabi. "We had some problems at the start with the tyres and had to stop earlier than expected to change to a new set," he said.

The German though was also satisfied with the season. "It has been a very good season, naturally with a lot of ups and downs, but we've gone massively forward from the beginning of the season to the end. We can be very proud of this progress," he said.