Hamilton wins F1 opener in Melbourne

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton started from pole position and avoided the carnage behind him to win an accident-filled Australian Formula One Grand Prix yesterday.

Hamilton was never seriously threatened and won in 1 hour, 34 minutes and 50.616 seconds to claim his fifth victory in 18 F1 starts.

The 23-year-old British driver was 5.4 seconds ahead of BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld in second place and 8.1 ahead of Williams' Nico Rosberg in third.

"We got away to a really great start -- we've done a superb job all weekend," Hamilton said. "It was close going to the first corner, but I was able to keep it cool and look after the tires."

"From then, I paced myself and didn't overdo it -- I had plenty of time in me," he said.

Defending champion Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari ran out of gas as he entered the pits with only five laps to go -- he was one of 15 cars that did not complete the 58-lap race.

The race ended at the first corner for four cars, with 2005 Australian GP winner Giancarlo Fisichella skidding off in the Force India team's debut.

Local favorite Mark Webber and Honda's Jenson Button were also among the five cars out by the end of the first lap on the Albert Park circuit.

Fernando Alonso, the two-time drivers champion who is back at Renault after a season with McLaren, moved up from 11th on the grid to finish fourth. It was the first time since 2003 that he did not finish on the podium at Melbourne.

Hamilton's McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen was fifth, with Honda's Rubens Barrichello crossing in sixth and Williams' No. 2 Kazuki Nakajima seventh.

Four-time Champ Car series winner Sebastien Bourdais was prominent throughout in his F1 debut before the engine in his Toro Rosso failed with two laps to go, but was classified in the final points-earning position of eighth.

Hamilton, who was third here on debut last year behind Raikkonen and Alonso, said the win reminded him of his first F1 victory.

"It was a bit like my first win last year in Montreal where we had four safety cars," he said. "It was a good challenge but we've all done a great job."

"I felt fantastic. You'd never thought it would have been as physically a breeze as it was. It's great preparation for Malaysia -- bring it on, I'm really looking forward to it," he said.

Hamilton, who was overhauled for the drivers title in his rookie season by Raikkonen in the last race at Brazil last year, gained an early advantage in what was expected to be another McLaren vs. Ferrari season.

"It is the perfect way to begin the season," he said. "We need to continue with the momentum. We could have gone quicker, so I'm not particularly bothered by the Ferrari's pace."

Ferrari No. 2 Felipe Massa started in fourth place but spun out on the first corner, and had to pit twice in the first three laps before retiring on the 30th lap after colliding with David Coulthard and shunting the Red Bull driver off the track with its front left and rear right wheels dangling off.

Raikkonen moved up from his starting place of 15th to third on the 30th lap before running into the gravel after an overtaking maneuver on Kovalainen.

His wheels appeared to lock and he drove straight off the track, coming back in 11th place and headed directly for the pits. He was eventually classified in ninth place.

Toyota's Timo Glock had the most spectacular crash, running wide on turn 12 in 45th lap, getting airborne on a curb and rotating his disintegrating car into a barrier.