Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen emerged as the winner of F1's season opening at the Australian Grand Prix.

The Finnish Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen won impressively at the Australian Grand Prix yesterday in Melbourne. The Lotus driver managed to win ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. Raikkonen also beat Red Bulls' Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.

At the start, Raikkonen was at seventh place on the grid but was able to drive ahead to fourth place in the early laps. Although he made two stops to manage his tires carefully, he still moved to the lead on lap 23.

"I could save the tires and I could go fast when I wanted. It was one of the easiest races to win," Raikkonen said.

"Our plan was to do two stops. It's always difficult in the first races to know when to stop. We got it exactly right, the team worked extremely well, we had a plan and we followed the plan, and it worked out perfectly for us," added the Finnish driver.

The 20th title for the 33-year-old driver said that his recent win was not only the most impressive but it was also the easiest. Not boasting about his skills but more likely stating that his team have got their strategy right this time.

"We got it exactly right. The team worked extremely well, we had a plan and we followed the plan and it worked out perfectly for us. I could save the tires and I could go fast when I wanted. It was one of the easiest races to win. Hopefully we can have more races like this," Raikkonen said.

The Australian Grand Prix that happened yesterday, March 17 in Melbourne, Australia marks another victory for Raikkonen's impressive credentials. His first F1 race was also at the Australian Grand Prix back in 2001 and in 2003, he won his first at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Listed below is the race results for the Australian Prix last Sunday.

1. Kimi Raikkonen - Lotus 1:30:03.225

2. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari +00:12.451

3. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull +00:22.346

4. Felipe Massa - Ferrari +00:33.577

5. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes +00:45.561

6. Mark Webber - Red Bull +00:46.800

7. Adrian Sutil - Force India +01:64.068

8. Paul di Resta - Force India +01:67.449

9. Jenson Button - McLaren +01:80.630

10. Romain Grosjean - Lotus +01:81.759