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LAP 1: Giancarlo Fisichella going airborne in his Force India after being hit from behind. The crash put him out of the race.
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MELBOURNE - LEWIS Hamilton avoided the absolute mayhem of the Australian Grand Prix yesterday to emerge with an emotion-charged win for McLaren, further enhancing the 23-year-old's reputation as the sport's heir apparent.
Ominously for his rivals, including Ferrari, who were left embarrassed as neither of their drivers finished, Hamilton claimed he was on cruise control all the way.
'The car was phenomenal - a complete dream to drive compared with my car of last year,' said the pin-up boy, who finished with more than five seconds to spare over BMW-Sauber's Nick Heidfeld and Williams' Nico Rosberg.
'And I am twice as fit as last year. I feel fantastic. I never thought it would have been, physically, such a breeze.'
The attrition rate in the race was unprecedented: Just seven of the 22 cars finished the 58 laps, the fewest in Melbourne's 13-year Grand Prix history, reported The Age.
The stifling heat that soared well into the 40 deg C range even melted the 'Iceman', Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who had charged brilliantly into third place from his starting position of 15th.
The Finn lost his cool with two mistakes - he tried to overtake compatriot Heikki Kovalainen of McLaren but fired straight into the gravel trap, and then spun again when his left rear-wheel hit grass later.
Then his Ferrari ran out of fuel with only five laps to go.
But he salvaged one championship point when stewards stripped Rubens Barrichello of his sixth placing because the Honda man left the pits while the exit lights were red.
The Brazilian also sent a mechanic flying when he accelerated away before the fuel hose was detached during a pit stop.
With Ferrari's other driver Felipe Massa forced out halfway following a collision with Red Bull's David Coulthard - his second crash of the race as he went into a barrier front first in the opening lap - the race represented the Italian team's worst season-opening performance since 1992.
The carnage began right from the start as five drivers failed to complete the opening lap - local hero Mark Webber, Giancarlo Fisichella, Jenson Button, Anthony Davidson and Sebastian Vettel.
'Somebody came on the right-hand side of my car like a kamikaze and pushed me out,' complained Force India's Fisichella.
The safety car was deployed for the second time just before the halfway point, when Massa and Coulthard collided at the end of the main straight.
The Scot flew off and blamed the Ferrari driver, who was trying to overtake.
Germany's Timo Glock brought out the safety car for the third and final time on Lap 44 when his Toyota hit a kerb and flew into the air, leaving bits of the car on the track as it landed.
New F1 rules removing traction control from the cars almost certainly contributed to yesterday's thrills and spills, as drivers now need much greater handling skills.
Rosberg said: 'It was the first race without traction control and without all those electronic aids, so you've got a lot more rear-wheel locking on the braking and you have to be more careful ... I think it's great for F1, it's more pure.'
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso was satisfied with the points he got for fourth place, even if he missed a podium finish here for the first time in five years.
Back with Renault after a troubled season at McLaren, he had expected to be off the pace after starting at 11th.
'That was a strange race, with lots of overtaking, incidents and mechanical problems for lots of drivers,' he said. 'We were able to make the most of the opportunities that came our way and finished the first GP with a good result, which will give us a confidence boost.'
Fifth-placed Kovalainen might have been fourth had he not hit the pit-lane speed-limiter button by accident when tearing off a visor strip after overtaking Alonso.
Kazuki Nakajima moved up to sixth for Williams, despite the Japanese tangling with Webber at the start and again with the BMW-Sauber's Robert Kubica nine laps from the end during the final safety car period.
Stewards gave the rookie a 10-place penalty on the starting grid for the Malaysian Grand Prix this Sunday.
Four-time Champ Car winner Sebastien Bourdais, the first Frenchman to start a season since 2004, joined an elite group to score on their debut with seventh place despite his Toro Rosso's engine blowing two laps from the end.
But the day belonged to Hamilton and McLaren, who who were fined US$100 million (S$138 million) and stripped of their constructors' points last season for cheating.
The glee was evident on the usually impassive face of McLaren boss Ron Dennis, a man widely ridiculed last year.
'Ron has been through a lot and so have the team, but we've pulled through,' said Hamilton, who lost the title last season by a single point.
'I'm glad he's happy.'
And while he believes Ferrari will mount a comeback, he added: 'We could have gone quicker today.'
ASSOCIATED PRESS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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