LEWIS Hamilton believes his Australian Grand Prix triumph is the best of his five Formula 1 wins so far.
The McLaren driver cruised to victory at Albert Park yesterday, claiming the opening race of the season by 5.4 seconds from BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, with Nico Rosberg securing a maiden podium by finishing third in his Williams.
A frenetic seas
on-opening contest saw only seven cars eventually cross the line after 58 laps of racing during another scorching Melbourne afternoon. But Hamilton was coolness personified as he led from the front for the vast majority of the race, despite twice seeing his advantage reduced to nothing by the deployment of the safety car.
His fortunes were in stark contrast to that of 'Iceman' Kimi Raikkonen, who had begun the day aiming for points after a fuel pump problem had relegated the Finn to 15th on the grid.
That he managed to claim even one was the only piece of good fortune the defending world champion experienced all weekend, after sixth-placed driver Rubens Barrichello was disqualified for exiting the pit lane with the red light on, promoting Raikkonen's Ferrari from ninth to eighth despite his race finishing four laps prematurely with engine failure in the pit lane.
There were no such problems for Hamilton, the 23-year-old effortlessly easing away from the field three times after safety car periods.
After his maiden victory in Montreal last year, also highlighted by numerous interruptions, Hamilton went on to taste success three more times. But he rates his Australian triumph even higher than the stunning victory in near-monsoon conditions at the Fuji Speedway in Japan last year.
"It's probably the best race I've had so far – in terms of managing tyres, controlling my pace and confidence, and being comfortable in the car," he said.
"It's quite different to my first win in Montreal, just because it was not really expected. Coming into your second season, this is a sort of target I set myself – and so I guess I've put more pressure on myself this year.
"This perhaps feels better than any. But I wouldn't say it's the perfect win. I would say there are a lot of areas I can improve."
With Heikki Kovalainen finishing fifth on his McLaren debut, it was a pleasing start for the Woking-based team as they opened up a 13-point gap over their Italian rivals – Felipe Massa also failing to finish because of engine failure, having already put David Coulthard out of the race.
Massa's Ferrari collided with Coulthard in the Red Bull when the Brazilian tried to pass on the inside of Turn One, heavily damaging the Scot's car and ending his race after 26 laps.
A frustrated Coulthard afterwards blamed Massa, saying: "You've got to have your car alongside to pass someone, you can't just ram into them. I screwed up last year when I tried a move on (Alexander] Wurz but I took full responsibility for it and I would expect Felipe to do the same."
However, Massa said: "Next time ask him to watch in the mirrors because I was completely inside. I'm definitely not going to speak to him."
The full article contains 538 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
