Rubens Barrichello said he was proud to have been "best of the rest" at Silverstone on a day when he felt Red Bull was uncatchable.
The Brawn driver beat his team-mate Jenson Button for the first time this year, but had to settle for third. He ran second behind the rapidly-disappearing Sebastian Vettel at first, then lost out to the German's teammate Mark Webber at the first pit stops.
"I have a lot of pride because at the end of the day, it was very difficult," said Barrichello. "Yesterday we were thinking that third was the best we could have and knew that if the track didn't change a little bit we knew it would be difficult to beat them. They were the class of field this weekend.
"I am proud of the achievement I had. The second stint was difficult on harder tires, it was difficult to hold on to people and with the winds crossing the track. I did what I had to do."
The result moves Barrichello to within 23 points of Button in the championship, and the Brazilian said he believed the contest was still alive.
"My target to the end of the year is really to close the gap on Jenson and we all did today," said Barrichello. He also revealed that he had been struggling with back problems throughout the event.
"I want to thank all the doctors that helped me this weekend because I was in terrible back pain," he said.