Lewis wins curtain raiser

We haven't stopped talking about last Sunday's race in Melbourne and already there's another gruelling grand prix in Malaysia today. Let's hope that last Sunday was a taste of what's in store this season.

McLaren and Lewis Hamilton seem to be well ahead of the competition and I dread to think what would have happened if the safety car had not been deployed. Once more Hamilton has reaffirmed that the man is good - extremely good - but we hope to see him not in close combat with either his fellow team mate or a driver from another team.

Heikki Kovalanin seems to have come a long way since Australia 2007: his race was impeccable, the only shortcoming was the moment the safety car came in. It ruined his podium chances. Both Ferraris were in dismay mode: Sebastian Bourdais scored points in his inaugural grand prix, yet had to retire with an engine problem. His car sports a Ferrari engine, so that means that all three running Ferrari engines stopped within three laps of each other.

We have seen improvements all the way from Force India F1. It was a pity that Fisichella was shoved out at the first corner to a much reliable Honda, while Barrichello brought the car home to be eventually disqualified for leaving the pit lane under a red light. Barrichello was 'celebrating' his 250th grand prix race.

Considering the temperatures, the Bridgestone tyres behaved relatively well as traction control was not available and all the driving, brakes and skid were performed by the drivers. Let's hope that the entertainment continues and Formula 1 will return to its origins where man and machine provide a stunning spectacle on the track.

Well done to Nico Rosberg and Williams. Nico had a fantastic race and finally Williams seem to have a winning car.

After the race

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren): (first) "I feel fantastic - what a dream start to the season and my championship challenge. I am sorry not to have Heikki (Kovalainen) with me on the podium as a one-two would have been a great reward to the team. It's nice to have Nico (Rosberg) here though as we have not shared a podium since our karting days with Team MBM (Mercedes-Benz McLaren). It was a super race which I controlled from the beginning. I was able to drive at a steady pace without feeling any pressure, which is always the ideal situation when you are leading. The three safety car periods meant that there was never time to relax, and the whole situation was a bit like Canada last year when I claimed my first victory. We constantly had to change our strategy and the strategists were on the ball throughout, which was super. The car is fantastic to drive and the team has done a superb job. I have prepared much better this year than last, and it's important that myself and the team continue to push hard in the months to come."

Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber): (second) "The team was working extremely hard to solve the problems we had in the beginning with the F1.08. We made constant progress and we have not exploited the full potential of the car yet. At the start I had too much wheel spin and could not keep Nico Rosberg behind me. I thought it is going to become a difficult race because I expected him to pit earlier. But we stopped on the same lap and our crew did a really great job to get me in front of him. With my second pit stop, I was lucky that the safety car didn't come out earlier and I could refuel as planned. In the last stint I had to take care not to kill the option tyres. Overall the first race without traction control was less difficult than expected."

Nico Rosberg (Williams): (third) "I am really, really happy and I have to say that being on the podium in Formula One is a really great feeling. It's been a while since I have been here and it's great for the whole team as they have been working hard over the winter, they have done a good job and made some real progress. I gave everything I had today, but it was a tough race on a street circuit in the heat which didn't make it easy. The team deserves my thanks for this great result and it really encourages me to feel that I can grow with Williams. I also want to thank my father for everything he has done to help me to get to this position. We have a solid race car and some good developments coming, but we don't want to get too excited because it's early days yet."

Fernando Alonso (Renault): (fourth) "That was a very strange race with lots of overtaking, incidents and mechanical problems for lots of drivers. We were able to make the most of the opportunities that came our way today and finished the first Grand Prix with a good result, which will give the team a boost and give us confidence for the rest of the season. However, we must continue working to improve our level of performance in qualifying and our pace in the race, but the result today is very important for us."

Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren): (fifth) "Obviously my competitiveness was better than the result shows. Unfortunately the last safety car phase prevented me from finishing second. Nevertheless I enjoyed the whole weekend working with the team on such a professional high level. My start was OK, but during the first stint I had a bit of graining on the tyres, but it didn't affect me too much. In my second stint, and especially in the last part of the race, my car was really good and I was flying. I had a great battle first with Kimi (Raikkonen) and then Fernando (Alonso) which I really enjoyed. I managed to get past Fernando but then as I tore off a visor strip on the main straight I accidentally hit the pit lane speed limiter button and Fernando managed to get past me again. I am pleased but also a bit disappointed as we were looking strong for a one-two finish today."

Kazuki Nakajima (Williams): (seventh) "To get to the end today was great, great to finish and great to get some points. It was really tough out there today physically, but on top of that there was so much going on. At the start, a car spun in front of me, turned side on and damaged my nose. Then with the various safety car periods, the team did a great job to swap my strategy to a one stop that put me in the points. Towards the end of the race, I had another incident when all the cars backed up into each other and I damaged my nose again. But it was good to be able to demonstrate my physical fitness and my consistency and I'm looking forward to Sepang which is a circuit I know better."

Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari): (did not finish) "It's really disappointing not to finish the race, but at least the point is better than nothing. I had an engine problem, the reason for which now needs to be analysed. The car was good and I had a good pace when I found a free track ahead of me. I spun a couple of times trying to pass those ahead of me, but the first time, with Glock, I put a wheel on the grass and the second time, with Kovalainen, I was a bit too optimistic. This result is obviously not the best start to the season but it is a very long one and we are well aware that we are capable of recovering from far worse situations than this. We have to put everything in place and then we will be really competitive."