Hamilton opens up with victory

Lewis Hamilton got his bid for the world title off to the perfect start as he won a highly eventful season-opening Australian Grand Prix in consummate style.
The McLaren driver had to keep his composure through three safety car periods to seal his fifth Formula 1 victory, but was in a class of his own at the front.
Ferrari, by contrast, endured a nightmare race from start to finish, as elementary driver errors from both Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, reliability problems and a collision meant it left Melbourne with one solitary point.
The Italian squad’s travails gave two other teams a rare look-in on the podium.
BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld drove a typically consistent race to take the runner-up spot, while a delighted Nico Rosberg claimed his maiden F1 podium with a hard-charging third place for Williams.
Alonso and Kovalainen took fourth and fifth places behind the victorious Hamilton, Heidfeld and Rosberg. Rubens Barrichello finished sixth on the road after a fine drive for Honda marred by a botched final pit stop when he was released from his stall while the fuel hose was still attached.
Several mechanics were mowed down as he accelerated away but fortunately all escaped serious injury. The beleaguered Honda team was denied three morale-boosting points, however, as Barrichello was disqualified for ignoring a red light as he left the pit lane.
Nakajima, the final finisher, therefore inherited sixth and scored his first world championship points. Such was the attrition that Bourdais and Raikkonen were classified seventh and eighth respectively despite not making it to the chequered flag.

Australian GP result, Albert Park - 58 laps

1. HAMILTON McLaren 1h34m50.6s
2. HEIDFELD BMW +5.5s
3. ROSBERG Williams +8.2s
4. ALONSO Renault +17.2s
5. KOVALAINEN McLaren +18.0s
6. NAKAJIMA Williams +1 lap
7. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso +3 laps
8. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +5 laps
9. KUBICA BMW +11 laps
10. GLOCK Toyota +15 laps
11. SATO Super Aguri +26 laps
12. PIQUET Renault +28 laps
13. MASSA Ferrari +29 laps
14. COULTHARD Red Bull +33 laps
15. TRULLI Toyota +39 laps
16. SUTIL Force India +50 laps
17. VETTEL Toro Rosso +58 laps
18. BUTTON Honda +58 laps
19. WEBBER Red Bull +58 laps
20. FISICHELLA Force India +58 laps
21. DAVIDSON Super Aguri +58 laps
DQ. BARRICHELLO Honda