Dominant Button wins first race of the season

Jenson Button made the best of starts to his 2012 Formula 1 World Championship has he took the first victory of the season. The Brit made a strong and dominant performance in Melbourne.

Although he had a disappointing qualifying, Vettel rised from sixth to runner-up position overtaking on his way up Lewis Hamilton and his team mate Mark Webber.

Fernando Alonso’s fifth place was kind of a relief for Ferrari, after a very poor and difficult weekend, as the F2012 proved to be more competitive during the race.

Jenson Button was faster than his team-mate to get off the grid and with that was able to overtake him in the first metres of the race. He then was able to create a gap between him and Hamilton of three seconds that would be kept stable until the first visit to the pits.

IT was a nice start from team Mercedes as both its drivers were occupying third and fourth positions after the start. Vettel would eventually overtake Rosberg on lap 2 and Schumacher’s promising challenge would end on lap 10 due to a gearbox problem. The reigning world champion was now lying third but still 12 seconds off the pace of the two McLarens.

Another early victim of the race was Romain Grosjean, the surprising third position in qualifying, that clashed with Pastor Maldonado on lap two. The Williams driver would end up losing further ground when he made a trip into the gravel on Turn 6. He fell into ninth place.

After the first visit to the pits, the gap between the two McLarens grew to tem seconds as Hamilton came out behind Raikkonen and Perez, who had a strategy with longer first stints. Thanks to this situation a group of cars gathered fighting for second position, counting with Vettel, Alonso, Rosberg, Webber and Maldonado.

At this point Button seemed unstoppable at the front but the cars were packed back together when Caterham’s Vitaly Petrov stopped on the pits straight with a steering problem and caused a safety car situation.

Vettel used this situation to his benefit. As both McLarens had already changed tyres, the world champion was able to make his own visit to the pits and still come out between the two McLarens. Still Button was out of reach for Vettel as the Brit managed to leave his team-mate and the world reigning champion fighting for second place, as he pulled off towards victory.

Webber also benefitted from the safety car to overtake Alonso. The Spaniard couldn’t follow the Aussie’s pace so he ended up fourth defending is fifth position from Pastor Maldonado, who would crash on the last lap.

Behind them a huge battle between Perez, Kobayashi, Rosberg and last-lap comer Raikkonen was taking place. Kobayashi came through in sixth ahead of Raikkonen and Perez, as Rosberg fell to 12th.

Thanks to last lap drama, Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo picked up his first F1 points, finishing in ninth. Top tem was completed by Paul di Resta in Force India.