HAMILTON WINS IN MELBOURNE
Lewis Hamilton took an early advantage after an impressive victory at an eventful Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
The British driver won the opening race of the new Formula One season after leading from pole position and the 10 championship points came with the added bonus that neither Kimi Raikkonen nor Felipe Massa finished in a race which saw only seven drivers complete the race, one of which, Rubens Barrichello, was disqualified for a pit-lane infringement.
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Hamilton also had to overcome three safety car interventions which eroded his early leads but the McLaren driver managed to rebuild his original leads and confirm his superiority over the field.
It was on the very first lap that the tone of the race, the first F1 race since the banning of traction control, was set with five drivers retiring on the very first lap following an incident at the first corner.
The British duo of Anthony Davidson and Jenson Button along with Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettal and Giancarlo Fisichella all retired without completing a lap.
David Coulthard was forced out on lap 26 after being shunted by Massa whilst his Ferrari teammate Raikkonen found himself in the gravel after trying to overtake Hamilton's teammate Heikki Kovalainen and despite rejoining the field, his challenge was effectively ended.
Hamilton, who claimed his fifth career victory in just his 18th start, claimed that this win was his best yet.
"It's probably the best race I've had so far in terms of managing tyres, controlling my pace and confidence, and being comfortable in the car," said the 23-year-old.
"But it's not the perfect win. There are a lot of areas I can improve."
Hamilton also added that he fully expects Ferrari to improve for the next race in Malaysia on Sunday.
"We could have gone quicker, so I'm not particularly bothered by Ferrari's pace," Hamilton, said.
"A lot of hype was put on them and they've obviously had a tough weekend, but you can't forget that they are a great team and they have a very good car and two great drivers."
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