Even if fans derided Sunday's US Grand Prix as a farce and a fiasco, Narain Karthikeyan [Images] had something to celebrate.

The rookie's fourth place behind Portuguese team mate Tiago Monteiro in a race with just six cars after the rest decided not to start, made him the first Indian to score Formula One points.

"These are my first championship points in Formula One and it does not really matter how they come," said Karthikeyan. "Points are points."

"This is the first time an Indian driver has scored points in Formula One so I'm happy."

The absence of the seven teams using Michelin tyres, deciding not to race after the French manufacturer said it could not guarantee the safety of the tyres, allowed Monteiro to become the first Portuguese on the podium.

"It was a weird race, a strange race, no-one was there," said Monteiro. "You had to finish, you had to be there.

"I wasn't joking, no-one on the track was kidding around. It was just fewer cars."

"Even if it was a weird situation, it's still a podium."

Asked whether he had ever thought he would be standing on the podium this season when he joined struggling Jordan, Monteiro replied: "Are you kidding? Of course not."

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