Lewis Hamilton believes his Australian Grand Prix triumph is the best of his five Formula One wins so far.
The McLaren driver cruised to victory at Albert Park on Sunday, claiming the opening race of the season by 5.4 seconds from BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld - with Nico Rosberg securing a maiden podium by finishing third in his Williams.
A frenetic season-opening contest saw only seven cars eventually cross the line after 58 laps of racing during another scorching Melbourne afternoon.
But Hamilton was coolness personified as he led from the front for the vast majority of the race, despite twice seeing his advantage reduced to nothing by the deployment of the safety car.
His performance was in stark contrast to that of 'Iceman' Kimi Raikkonen, who had begun the day aiming for points after a fuel pump problem had relegated the Finn to 15th on the grid.
That he managed to claim even one was the only piece of good fortune the current world champion experienced all weekend, after sixth-placed driver Rubens Barrichello was disqualified for exiting the pit lane with the red light on.
That came after his Ferrari had once again come to a halt in the pit lane, this time because of engine failure four laps from the end of the race, to bring an unhappy conclusion to an erratic afternoon.
The 28-year-old made up seven places at the start, was even running as high as third at one point but found himself at the back of the field when he ended up in the gravel, over-shooting on a bend passing Heikki Kovalainen's McLaren after the second safety car re-start.
A subsequent spin compounded Raikkonen's misery, but at least he was promoted from ninth to eight after Barrichello's blunder.
There were no such problems for Hamilton, the 23-year-old effortlessly easing away from the field three times after safety car periods - producing a faultless display, driving within himself.
After his maiden victory in Montreal last year, also highlighted by numerous interruptions, Hamilton went on to taste success three more times.
But he rates his Australian triumph even higher than the stunning victory in near-monsoon conditions at the Fuji Speedway in Japan last year.
"It's probably the best race I've had so far - in terms of managing tyres, controlling my pace and confidence, and being comfortable in the car." he said.
"It's quite different to my first win in Montreal, just because it was not really expected.
"Coming into your second season, this is a sort of target I set myself - and so I guess I've put more pressure on myself this year.
"This perhaps feels better than any, because I feel I've improved in so many areas. But I wouldn't say it's the perfect win. I would say there are a lot of areas I can improve."
With Heikki Kovalainen finishing fifth on his McLaren debut, it was a pleasing start for the Woking-based team as they opened up a 13-point gap over their Italian rivals - Felipe Massa also failing to finish because of engine failure, having already put David Coulthard out of the race.
After the trials and tribulations of last season, Hamilton was delighted to start the 2008 campaign on a positive note.
"I wouldn't say it draws a line under it [last season]," he added.
"But for sure, coming into a new season, turning over a new leaf, we really wanted to get off on the right foot.
"Ron's [Dennis] been through a lot - so have the team - but we pulled through, and it really shows in the results.
"I'm glad he's happy. It's an emotional feeling to win the first grand prix of the season - especially with all the winter testing, the whole build-up, not really knowing whether you had the pace of everyone else, whether you would be able to win, whether the cars could be reliable.
"But when you come out on top it's a real relief and great satisfaction."
Despite Ferrari's disastrous start, Hamilton is far too shrewd to start writing off the Italian marque just yet.
"I think a lot of hype was put on them," he said.
"They've obviously had a tough weekend. But we can't forget that they are a great team and they have a very good car and two great drivers as well.
"One bad weekend - I'm sure everyone could have a bad weekend at some point during the season. There are still 17 races to go."
source : www.sportinglife.com
