After captivating the Formula One racing scene with a thrilling 2010 Driver's Championship, Sebastian Vettel ushered in this season with a sounding victory.
Scratch that - it was an absolute textbook example of winning a race in one of the world's most premier motorsports series.
From the first lap to the 58th and final circuit, there was never a doubt that Vettel would capture this race.
Starting from the pole position, the only thing in question for Vettel and his Team Red Bull Racing colleagues was how large his margin of victory would be over second place Lewis Hamilton.
With timely and excellent pit stops all race long, the 23-year-old German drove a smart, smooth race, besting 2008 F1 champion Hamilton by 22.297 seconds at Albert Park.
"Obviously we work very, very hard on that," Vettel said about his KERS power boosting system following his win, per a Reuters article.
Noting room for improvement with that particular aspect of his car, the defending champion added, "We have to get it working for Malaysia."
Despite being overwhelmingly defeated by the speedy Vettel, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was still proud of his team's solid efforts, all this after some dismal pre-season testing sessions.
"Hopefully with an even better car, I think we can challenge for a win maybe," Hamilton said. Adding, per an article by AutoSport.com, "I think we can definitely take this and be very proud of ourselves.
"The guys did a great job coming into this weekend. A week or two ago, we we were not expecting to be anywhere near top five. To come away with second and the car more reliable, I think it is a great achievement for us guys."
As the sport's youngest stars dominated the center stage on Sunday, the Australian Grand Prix provided a pleasant surprise for the third and final spot on the podium.
Russia's Vitaly Petrov provided the race's Cinderella-like story, as he not only showcased the abilities of the 2011 Renault, but also of his stellar skills behind the wheel.
After losing lead driver Robert Kubica indefinitely prior to the start of the season, racer Nick Heidfeld was promoted to the lead spot to ease in Petrov's rookie F1 campaign.
At least with Sunday's opener, Heidfeld struggled to a lap down, 12th place result while his teammate Petrov impressed fans, racers, and the press with his terrific third place finish.
"I am happy to be sitting here with you guys," Petrov said per an article from AutoSport.com. "All weekend was pretty good but after that, we didn't know where we are. Coming here we had some new parts and from Friday practice, our car looked very strong, and qualifying was not too bad.
"Then we focused on our race, and today did everything perfectly and we must be proud of our place today."
Capturing the third and final podium position, Petrov added to his lure, becoming Russia's first Formula One racer to score championship points.
It was a story of appreciation and gratitude for the top three finishers of the Australian Grand Prix, who now have a couple of weeks to relish their fine performances before the series prepares for the April 10th running of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
In between the season opener and the race at Malyasia are some teams who are left somewhat puzzled with either their performances last Sunday or some decisions resulting in penalties doled out by the FIA (International Automobile Federation).
For racers like Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Rubens Barrichello, and Michael Schumacher, it'll be a race that resulted in somewhat disappointing results.
Alonso and Webber had nothing for the top-three racers, essentially serving up to be the only "exciting" race for position throughout the race.
About every strategy in the racing book was used between Alonso and Webber, from short pitting to some overly aggressive driving on the race course.
In the end, Alonso's Ferrari had enough power to stave off the home country favorite for the fourth position, logging in somewhat bearable results in comparison to that of Barrichello and Schumacher.
Barrichello seemed to fine trouble throughout the race, particularly when he made hard contact with Mercedes' racer Nico Rosberg early in the going, eliminating the German from the race.
As for the veteran racer from Brazil, it resulted in a drive through penalty, effectively taking him out of contention and ultimately with 16th, unable to finish the event.
Once the sport's dominant force, Schumacher's 18th place finish, resulting in a DNF, capped off a forgettable weekend for Mercedes. After getting tangled up in a first lap incident, his car wasn't the same, struggling both with power and handling on the race course.
With very few options, the seven-time Formula One champion pulled into the garage area, as his team has their work cut out for them for the next GP in a few weeks.
While Barrichello and Schumacher may be disappointed about their finishes, Sauber (as of press time) had to be dejected at the FIA following what would've resulted in top-10 finishes for their racers Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi.
Due to technical infringements with their cars' rear wings, the FIA disqualified both racers from their top-10 positions, relegating them to the the 21st and 22nd positions.
As a result, Sauber decided to appeal, with James Key, the team's technical director, saying per Reuters article, "This is a surprising and disappointing result.
"It appears that there is a question over the top surface of the uppermost rear wing element. This area is not the working surface of the component and therefore relatively unimportant to its function."
Pending the outcoming of the appeal, as of this article's published date, the top-10 finishers of the Australian GP (which essentially reflect the top 10 driver's point standings) are the following, with their respective teams:
- Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
- Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
- Vitaly Petrov (Renault)
- Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
- Mark Webber (Red Bull)
- Jenson Button (McLaren)
- Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
- Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso)
- Adrian Sutil (Force India)
- Paul Di Resta (Force India)
Red Bull (35 points) leads the constructor's championship over McLaren (26 points), Ferrari (18), Renault (15), Toro Rosso (4), Force India (3), Lotus, and Virgin.
Following a hiatus this weekend, the F1 series will race at the Sepang International Circuit for the Malyasian GP, where Sebastian Vettel looks to contiune his winning ways, defending his 2010 victory at this venue.
SPEED will carry the racing action in the U.S., while those living in Southeast Asia can catch the event live per your local Star Sports channel.
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