From Motor Authority:
Ferrari dominates Oz F1 with McLaren close behind
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen took top honors at Sunday’s inaugural F1 race in Melbourne, despite having no radio contact with the pit crew and racing under the legendary marque for the first time. His pace was excellent throughout the day, leading from the start and leaving a score of fastest laps behind him.
The day also turned out favorable for McLaren’s new drivers, with 22-year old Lewis Hamilton holding off current world champion Fernando Alonso in second place for much of the race before succumbing to his teammate and ending in third. With both Alonso and Hamilton finishing on the podium, McLaren are leading the constructors’ championship while Raikkonen’s in charge of the driver standings.
The BMWs were quick off the start and both drivers, Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, were poised to finish in the top ten. Heidfeld managed to come in fourth position but unfortunately Kubica failed to finish because of mechanical problems. Giancarlo Fisichella came in fifth, edging out Raikkonen’s teammate Felipe Massa who finished just 0.3seconds after the Renault driver. This was an amazing feat for Massa considering he started right at the back of the grid due to penalties.
Toro Rosso’s Scott Speed went off the road in spectacular fashion along with Christijan Albers who crashed his Spyker early on. David Coulthard and Alex Wurz also suffered a nasty crash towards the end of the race.