Felipe Massa on the podium in third place and his Ferrari team-mate, Fernando Alonso, right behind him in fourth, ensures that the team and its drivers continue to lead both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ World Championships after the second round in the series, the Australian Grand Prix. Albert Park often delivers thrilling races and this was no exception, aided by the rain that fell just before the start and a first lap collision that brought out the very traditional Melbourne Safety Car. The race was action packed from start to finish and proved that Ferrari Team Principal, Stefano Domenicali was right to advise caution, when others started talking about rule changes following a rather processional opening race in Bahrain.

The race was won by Jenson Button, the reigning world champion thus claiming his first win for McLaren and, ahead of Felipe came Robert Kubica, second in the Renault. As the lights went out, Sebastian Vettel led from pole in the Red Bull, ahead of Felipe who got a really good start, to get ahead of second placed man Mark Webber. Where was Fernando? He was squeezed by Button, with Schumacher on his outside which sent him into a spin which dropped him all the way down to eighteenth. It was to be the start of a great charge through the field.

The Safety Car came in on lap 4 and Kubica moved ahead of Webber, with Fernando already 15th, but Felipe seemed to struggle a bit and was passed by Webber to go third on lap 6. One lap later, with Button the first to come in, the entire field gradually came in to change to slick tyres as Fernando was now 13th. Felipe changed tyres on lap 8 and two laps later, Fernando was in the points zone in tenth place, gaining another place on lap 13 and another on lap 14.

Felipe was coming under pressure from Webber and as the two fought it out, Hamilton managed to slip past both of them, only for Felipe to regain his position when the Red Bull and the McLaren tangled. Lap 16 and Fernando was now seventh, but Felipe had Hamilton right on his tail. By lap 20 of 58 the order was Vettel, comfortably leading Button, Kubica, Rosberg, Felipe in fifth, then Hamilton with Alonso still seventh. Hamilton got past the Brazilian Ferrari man on lap 22 and while they duelled, Fernando had to slow, which meant he was overtaken by Webber so that the two Ferrari men were now sixth and eighth. On lap 26, race leader Vettel appeared to have a technical problem and went out of the race in a gravel trap which meant Button now lead ahead of Kubica, Hamilton, Rosberg, Felipe again fifth, Webber and Fernando seventh. Webber again got the better of the Brazilian on lap 31, but the Australian pitted again on lap 32. Making only one pit stop for dry tyres was going to be the secret of success for the eventual top four, as when Rosberg changed tyres on lap 33, Felipe and Fernando were now running fourth and fifth and then moved into their final positions when Hamilton pitted again on lap 34. The Ferrari duo did close on Kubica in the Renault but not enough to make a real challenge and in fact, in the closing stages, Fernando was again being pushed hard by Hamilton. So at the flag, the order was Button, Kubica, Massa, Alonso, Rosberg, Hamilton, Liuzzi, Barrichello, Webber, with the final point for tenth place going to Schumacher.

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro comes away from the Australian Grand Prix with 27 points. This result means that the Maranello team continues to have its drivers in the top two places in the Drivers’ Championship (Fernando first on 37 points and Felipe second with 33) and the team also leads the Constructors’ classification on 70 points. In just five days time, the cars will be back in action at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit for the third round of the world championship.

Stefano Domenicali: “We can be satisfied with this result. At the end of an incident packed race we managed to get one driver onto the podium and the other – who had been last after the first corner – into fourth spot. Fernando staged a fantastic climb through the field and might have got an even better result, but we know overtaking is always difficult, especially when it involves cars with similar performance levels. He was perfect when defending his position against Hamilton in the closing stages. Felipe got a really good start which formed the basis of his final result: he had a difficult weekend and I am sure this second consecutive podium is pleasing for him. Reliability however is the key factor, as we saw again today. In terms of the championship, today’s result is very positive: those who are our strongest competitors at the moment picked up just a few points and even when compared to other drivers, we have extended our lead. Now we must remain focussed and prepare as well as possible for the next week’s race in Malaysia, where we will again find different conditions to those we have experienced in the first two Grands Prix.”

Felipe Massa: “I am very happy with this result, for myself and for the team. Given everything that happened, rain at the start, the safety car, the switch to slick tyres when the track was still very slippery – we did a great job. These points are very important for the classification: I have never been very lucky here and in the past, I have often struggled in the early part of the season. The key to getting on the podium was the start. I managed not to spin the wheels, while other drivers struggled for grip and I managed to move up to second. Then I lost some places in the early stages, when I had a few problems with grip, but thanks to the strategy, I then managed to make up some. I was able to close on Kubica but I never had a real chance of passing him, while behind me Fernando got very close on more than one occasion, making the most of a few errors. I think the spectators in the grandstands and in front of their TV screens had fun today: you could hardly call it boring!”

Fernando Alonso: “I am pleased with this result. I got an awful start, because I had wheel spin on a white line and was last after the first corner following a collision with two other cars, so to finish fourth is very significant, especially given what happened to some other drivers, meaning we have increased our lead over some of our closest rivals in the title fight. Thanks to the strategy, we managed to get this result. The car was perfect and we were able to run a very long stint with the soft tyres. When I found myself behind Felipe, maybe I could have gone a bit quicker, but we know it’s very hard to pass in Formula 1 and between team-mates, one should not take any unnecessary risks. If we had managed to get past Kubica, then it might have been a different story, but it wasn’t possible, apart from the fact I also had to defend my position against Hamilton and Webber, who were on fresher tyres than us. For sure, after an exciting and action packed race like this, I don’t think we’ll hear much more talk about boring races!”

Chris Dyer: “Before the race, we had hoped for a better result, but after what happened at the start and the first corner, with Fernando relegated to the back of the pack, we have to be happy with taking home a third and a fourth place. We opted to run just one set of dry tyres and that proved to be the right decision. If we had pitted a second time, we would definitely have lost a few places, while staying out on track, we knew our pursuers would catch us in the closing stages and then it would be a case of defending position which is exactly what happened, with a positive outcome. After two races, we are leading both championships and that means we can look forward with confidence to the rest of the season.”

Race details:

Driver Position Time Gap Laps Chassis

F. Massa 3rd 1:33.51.019 + 14.488 58 281
F. Alonso 4th 1:33.52.835 + 16.304 58 283