Breeze for Lewis in Melbourne - Hamilton quick to slience doubters

He could call it what he liked after driving like the wind. While his 'rivals' were spinning off the Albert Park track after the removal of electronic driver aids, or snared by mechanical gremlins, in drove his McLaren oblivious to the mayhem. His victory was an early title warning that echoed all the way to Ferrari's HQ in Maranello.

It was another riposte to the doubters. To those who wondered if he spent too much of the off-season in celebrity gossip columns. To those who doubted if he would cope with the pressures of his sophomore season. To those who questioned McLaren's ability to rise from the Spygate mess and produce a car to match Ferrari.

The reservations were legitimate but Hamilton simply blew them apart here on the opening day of the season. There was not a wheel out of place, reinforcing his status as a sportsman of imperial potential.

The only time you held your breath for him came at the opening corner. Starting on pole, he swooshed over from left to right and sneaked ahead of Robert Kubica's BMW. For a second they were nose to tail, separated by inches.

They escaped without damage which was more than could be said for those behind him.

The safety car was called into action for the first time before Hamilton emerged from the first set of pit stops in the lead.

Only Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, up from 15th to third, had not refuelled by the reintroduction of the safety car, caused by team-mate Felipe Massa's clash with David Coulthard's Red Bull — more of which later.

It was a gritty display by Raikkonen after his qualifying hopes had been compromised by a fuel pump problem but he was never a serious threat to Hamilton's lead.

The safety car was out again on lap 44 when Timo Glock's Toyota ran wide and ended up bouncing to a halt, wheels hanging off it. No panics, though, for Hamilton as he cruised to the chequered flag five seconds ahead of Nick Heidfeld of BMW and the McLaren star's old karting mate, Nico Rosberg of BMW.

"It was a super race and I dominated it from the beginning," said Hamilton. "I was able to drive at a steady pace without feeling any pressure. The three safety car periods meant there was never a time to relax and the whole situation was a bit like Canada last year when I claimed my first victory.

"We constantly had to change our strategy and the strategists were on the ball throughout. The car was fantastic to drive and we must keep on pushing because Ferrari are a great team and will do a good job."

Not yesterday. Both their cars suffered rare engine failures while their drivers were ragged. Yes, Raikkonen gamely passed Rubens Barrichello but he spun into the gravel attempting to take Hamilton's new team-mate Heikki Kovalainen and then fizzed off the track in a duel with Glock.

Despite his race ending on lap 53, the world champion was belatedly classified eighth after Barrichello was excluded for ignoring red lights as he left the pit lane during a safety car period. "This is obviously not the best start," said Raikkonen.

"But this is the beginning of long season and we are capable of recovering from far worse."

Massa's day was eventful, with Coulthard furious about the coming together which ended his participation. "I was on the inside and he closed the door on me, probably because he hadn't seen me," said Massa. I tend to side with the Brazilian.

However, the day's biggest hard luck story was Kovalainen's. The Finn seemed certain to claim a deserved runners-up spot. But when he pitted for the second and final time during the third safety car period he came out at the back of the bunched-up pack.

He brilliantly muscled his way beyond the man he replaced, Fernando Alonso — who wrung everything he could out of his Renault to take fourth — only to accidentally hit the speed limiter button as he tried to rip off a visor strip. Fifth, and the promise of more to come, was his lot.

It was a mixed day for Jenson Button. His left rear suspension was askew after he was knocked by Sebastian Vettel's Toro Rosso just after the Briton burst through Alonso at the start. Barrichello's form in the other Honda underlines their progress through the winter.

The final Briton, Anthony Davidson, also retired early after a first-lap smash. The absence of traction control and engine braking, leading to more rear wheel spinning, certainly added to the spectacle. Hamilton said: 'It's real racing. It's how it should be.'

Just like Hamilton's performance.

Provisional results from Australian Grand Prix:

1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 58 laps one hour 34 minutes 50.616 seconds

2. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber +5.478 secs

3. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota +8.163

4. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault +17.181

5. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes +18.014

DQ Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda +52.453

6. Kazuki Nakajima* (Jpn) Williams-Toyota 1 lap behind

7R Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 55 laps completed

8R Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 53 laps

R Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 47 laps

R Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 43 laps

R Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 32 laps

R Nelson Piquet Jr (Brz) Renault 30 laps

R Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 29 laps

R David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 25 laps

R Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 19 laps

R Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 8 laps

R Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 0 laps

R Jenson Button (GB) Honda 0 lap

R Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri-Honda 0 lap

R Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 0 laps

R Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari 0 laps

* Nakajima handed 10-place grid penalty for next weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix

Key: R = retired; DQ = disqualified.