Melbourne diary: Final day

By David Garrido
Newsbeat sports reporter

David Garrido wraps up his daily online blog in Melbourne with a look at Lewis Hamilton's stunning opening victory at the Australian Grand Prix.

So, the perfect start to the new season for Lewis Hamilton - he was as cool as ever to lead the Aussie Grand Prix from start to finish in a truly dramatic race.

There were so many moments that could have knocked him off-balance, not least the fact that the safety car came out three times at Albert Park, wiping out any lead he had established over the guys behind him.

But as he cruised over the finish line, there were standing ovations from all parts of the circuit, Union flags waving all over the place.

Many people were tipping Ferrari and particularly world champion Kimi Raikkonen to storm to victory this weekend, but they had a shocker, starting off when Kimi pulled up in qualifying.

Limped out

You've got to feel for the Finn, he was 15th on the grid, fought his way up to third, dropped to the back of the field, then limped out with four laps to go.

But despite all those setbacks, Raikkonen is the real deal and he proved he can still be a threat even when things are not going his way - remember, it is only the first race.

While Hamilton eased to victory, the other British drivers had a frustrating time. David Coulthard was livid after pranging his Red Bull trying to pass Felipe Massa. Honda's Jenson Button and Anthony Davidson of Super Aguri failed to even complete the first lap.

With only seven cars finishing the full 58 laps, it was the sort of race Red Bull could have exploited to at least get into the points.

The Honda team will however be pleased they were in the midfield mix, but expect Super Aguri to bring up the rear all season.

Only seven cars finished the full 58 laps in Melbourne

The atmosphere at this Grand Prix was incredible - more than 100,000 fans, temperatures hitting 36 degrees (47 on track!), and plenty of thrills and spills to keep everyone interested.

Timo Glock's crash was pretty spectacular, and thankfully he emerged unscathed.

In terms of the rest of the season, Lewis has set the tone with an opening victory. Now all he has to do is keep it up.

But beware Ferrari - they will be hurting after both cars retired and will want to hit back big-time.

Bring on Malaysia!