Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen won the Australia grand prix in dominant fashion on Sunday, leading comfortably from pole and also registering the fastest lap.
Reigning champion Fernando Alonso in his first race for McLaren came second but the real star of the race was Briton Lewis Hamilton who in his first race in F1 made it a double podium for McLaren. Hamilton got off to a flying start, overtaking Alonso to second by the first corner and leading him for much of the race, before the Spaniard retook P2 after the second pitstop. Neither was able to challenge the Fying Finn in front. Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) came in fourth, having held off a charging Felipe Massa of Ferrari, who carved his way up to fifth from the back of the grid, having been penalised following an engine change on Saturday.
BMW's Robert Kubica had been in fourth and gunning for a podium when he retired with gearbox problems.
Giancarlo Fisichella of Renault came sixth, Nico Rosberg, Williams, seventh, and Ralph Schumacher of Toyota in eighth.
This was the first grand prix in many years without Michael Schumacher, but the seven times world champion made a congratulatory phone call to Kimi Raikkonen as he walked towards the podium.
The race produced a heart stopping moment when on lap 50 an overtaking attempt by David Coulthard on the Williams of Alex Wurz went dramatically wrong. The Red Bull flew right over the Williams, missing the lanky Austrian by inches. Couthard later apologised to Wurz, admitting it was his mistake.
All teams opted for a standard two pit stop strategy except in the case of Felipe Massa, who was on one stop, having filled his tank as he started from the back.
The race was a massive disappointment for Honda, who found themselves fighting it out with Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Spyker.
It was also a debut race to forget for Renault rookie Heikki Kovalainen, who finished out of the points after making several mistakes.
Reigning champion Fernando Alonso in his first race for McLaren came second but the real star of the race was Briton Lewis Hamilton who in his first race in F1 made it a double podium for McLaren. Hamilton got off to a flying start, overtaking Alonso to second by the first corner and leading him for much of the race, before the Spaniard retook P2 after the second pitstop. Neither was able to challenge the Fying Finn in front. Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) came in fourth, having held off a charging Felipe Massa of Ferrari, who carved his way up to fifth from the back of the grid, having been penalised following an engine change on Saturday.
BMW's Robert Kubica had been in fourth and gunning for a podium when he retired with gearbox problems.
Giancarlo Fisichella of Renault came sixth, Nico Rosberg, Williams, seventh, and Ralph Schumacher of Toyota in eighth.
This was the first grand prix in many years without Michael Schumacher, but the seven times world champion made a congratulatory phone call to Kimi Raikkonen as he walked towards the podium.
The race produced a heart stopping moment when on lap 50 an overtaking attempt by David Coulthard on the Williams of Alex Wurz went dramatically wrong. The Red Bull flew right over the Williams, missing the lanky Austrian by inches. Couthard later apologised to Wurz, admitting it was his mistake.
All teams opted for a standard two pit stop strategy except in the case of Felipe Massa, who was on one stop, having filled his tank as he started from the back.
The race was a massive disappointment for Honda, who found themselves fighting it out with Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Spyker.
It was also a debut race to forget for Renault rookie Heikki Kovalainen, who finished out of the points after making several mistakes.