Formula One star Lewis Hamilton kicked off his 2008 season in commanding fashion, rolling to a first place finish at the Australian Grand Prix early this morning. Hamilton had very little trouble in collecting his first ten championship points of the season, while the rest of the grid seemed to struggle considerably. With traction control and other driver aids missing from their cars for the first time in more than a decade, the F1 field seemed to be learning as they drove in an error filled race. Only seven drivers crossed the finish line under the checkered flag, with mechanical failures or crashes claiming the remaining 13 drivers.

The first corner of the Australian GP has been a historically nasty one on the first lap, and this year’s race was no exception. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa spun towards the inside of the first turn, damaging his front wing and forcing him to limp to the pits, while causing a series of collisions in his wake. The fracas caused Sebastian Vettle, Giancarlo Fisichella, Mark Webber, Anthony Davidson, and Jenson Button to retire before even completing one lap. Last year’s champion Kimi Raikkonen had a disastrous day as well. The Ferrari driver went off the track on turn three while attempting to pass, and later spun in the same spot before failing to finish due to engine trouble near the end of the race. In perhaps the saddest turn of the failure-filled event, Toro Rosso’s rookie driver Sebastien Bourdais, who was on pace to finish fourth in his first F1 start, saw his car mysteriously die just three laps from the end of the race. + Autosport: Hamilton cruises to Australian GP win

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Australian Grand Prix
Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia;
58 laps; 99.999km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time
 1.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1h34:50.616
 2.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber            (B)  +     5.478
 3.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota       (B)  +     8.163
 4.  Alonso        Renault               (B)  +    17.181
 5.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +    18.014
 6.  Barrichello   Honda                 (B)  +    52.453
 7.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota       (B)  +     1 lap
 8.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  +    2 laps
 9.  Raikkonen     Ferrari               (B)  +    3 laps

Fastest lap: Kovalainen, 1:27.418

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                      On lap
Kubica        BMW Sauber            (B)    50
Glock         Toyota                (B)    44
Sato          Super Aguri-Honda     (B)    33
Piquet        Renault               (B)    31
Massa         Ferrari               (B)    30
Coulthard     Red Bull-Renault      (B)    26
Trulli        Toyota                (B)    20
Sutil         Force India-Ferrari   (B)    9
Webber        Red Bull-Renault      (B)    1
Button        Honda                 (B)    1
Davidson      Super Aguri-Honda     (B)    1
Vettel        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)    1
Fisichella    Force India-Ferrari   (B)    1

World Championship standings, round 1:

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Hamilton      10        1.  McLaren-Mercedes       14
 2.  Heidfeld       8        2.  BMW Sauber              8
 3.  Rosberg        6        3.  Williams-Toyota         8
 4.  Alonso         5        4.  Renault                 5
 5.  Kovalainen     4        5.  Honda                   3
 6.  Barrichello    3        6.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1
 7.  Nakajima       2
 8.  Bourdais       1

All timing unofficial

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