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Lewis Hamilton stormed to success in the first Grand Prix of the season in Melbourne. The Brit lead from start to finish in a thrilling, action packed race which only saw seven cars finish. BMW's Nick Heidfeld came home second whilst Nico Rosberg steered his Williams into third place.

Reigning champion Kimi Raikkonen failed to finish in an extraordinary performance that saw him make his way through the field from 16th to third only to spin off attempting an ambitious pass on Heikki Kovalainen, who was robbed of a second place finish by a late safety car outing and had to settle for fifth. Fernando Alonso started off his return to Renault with a respectable fourth placed finish which involved a thrilling last lap battle with Heikki Kovalainen which the former World Champion came out victorious.

Rubens Barrichello seemed to banish rumours that Honda were going to struggle this season by finishing sixth, but he was later disqualified for a mix up that saw him leave the pit lane under a red light.

The banning of traction control certainly added excitement to the race with many drivers falling foul of the new law. David Coulthard was left fuming after Felippe Massa's Ferrari slid into his Red Bull, ending what was a promising race for the Scottish veteran whilst five cars never made it past the first corner.

Hamilton was never troubled in a comfortable performance and would have won by a larger distance if the safety car did not keep getting employed. It was a good weekend for McLaren who look to rid themselves of the controversy that tainted last season. Hamilton now looks to Malaysia as he searches for the World Drivers Championship that he narrowly missed out on last year.

Glen Robertson

9:42pm Wednesday 19th March 2008

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