Hamilton faces battle to be McLaren No1 as Kovalainen looks to build of Sepang podium finish

Hamilton saw his lead in the drivers' standings cut to three points after a five-place grid penalty before a problem with a wheel nut during his first pit stop ruined any chance of a podium.

The Briton eventually finished fifth as Ferrari rival Kimi Raikkonen cruised to victory by nearly 20 seconds from BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica to condemn the Finn's misery in Melbourne firmly to the past.

But it was Kovalainen's unlikely first podium for his new employers that provided the most cheer.

Having out-qualified his more illustrious team-mate on Saturday, the Finn was also demoted five places for impeding both Nick Heidfeld and Fernando Alonso at the end of the session and was forced to start from eighth on the grid.

However, a steady if unspectacular drive combined with astute race strategy saw Kovalainen cross the line seven seconds ahead of Jarno Trulli's Toyota, albeit almost 40 seconds behind compatriot Raikkonen.

And Whitmarsh believes his performance over the weekend will act as an incentive to Hamilton to re-establish his authority in the Middle East.

"Lewis was pushed very hard by Heikki this weekend but that's good," said Whitmarsh.

"Knowing Lewis, he'll turn up to the next race absolutely determined to beat Heikki.

"Heikki's done a fantastic job all weekend. He had a little more pace during the weekend then Lewis.

"As events wore on through into qualifying, I think Heikki felt in a more comfortable position with the balance of his car while it went away from Lewis.

"He was struggling to grip by comparison and by Lewis' high standards, I think he was disappointed with that."

With all the talk of a Ferrari crisis after Melbourne unsurprisingly proving premature, the focus has now switched to McLaren's below-par weekend in Sepang.

"The reality is Ferrari under-performed in Melbourne," Whitmarsh added.

"We said that all the long. We knew going into the season Ferrari have a strong package and they've got two quick drivers.

"So it's up to us now to respond to the competition that we have. I don't think we did the best job we could here. We made mistakes.

"Rather like last year, it's an exciting season where race by race you've got to be on your game."

However, the Woking-based team still leave Malaysia with a five-point lead over BMW in the constructors' championship after their 10-point haul, while Hamilton still holds the upper hand in the drivers' standings.

It is not a bad position to be in according to team boss Ron Dennis.

"If this is our worst weekend of the year then we will take it," he said.

"Leading both championships at this point in the season is not a bad place to be in.

"We don't really know what our pace is at the moment. We won't know how competitive we are until after Barcelona (the fourth grand prix of the season, on April 27).

"As I've said, the first three races are very different circuits and don't reflect the true pace of the car. Barcelona will be the true test."