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The 2012 Grand Prix season had a blistering start this weekend. It saw a breathtaking race in Melbourne, which ended in triumph for Jenson Button and McLaren. This put a spanner in champion Sebastian Vettel’s plans to kick off the new year with a victory. But the Australian Grand Prix proved to be an emphatic win for the British racer.

Yet, ironically enough, it was Buttons team mate Lewis Hamilton whom qualified in pole position, with Button starting second. However Jenson overtook his compatriot at the opening corner and from then well on his way to winning. Hamilton, on the other hand, was the victim to a mishap with a safety car. This gave Vettel the chance to get ahead of him and come in second. Hamilton duly dropped back to third place. Mark Webber, driving with Red Bull, finished the race in fourth position. Fernando Alonso, with Ferrari, came in fifth.

Pastor Maldonado, driving for the Williams team, was set to finish sixth, but he crashed his car at the Turn Seven kink. This let Japanese racer Kamui Kobayashi, with Sauber, swoop in and finish in his place. The seventh spot was taken by Kimi Raikkonen, for Lotus, in his first rally since 2010. Sergio Perez, also with Sauber, was eighth.

But this weekend proved to be a crowing achievement for Britain’s Jenson Button. It is now on to the second race of the calendar. It is the 2012 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix. It is due to take place at the Sepang International Circuit, near Kuala Lumpur, on Sunday the 25th of March at 16:00.