The Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen has given Lotus a dream start to the Formula One season with a winning strategy carried out to perfection in the Australian Grand Prix.
The 2007 world champion's victory was the second of a comeback that started last season and his second in Melbourne since his triumph with Ferrari in the year of his championship success.
His two-stop strategy gave him a comfortable victory over the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso and the Red Bull of triple world champion Sebastien Vettel.
The victory, from seventh on the grid, is another huge boost to the team as Raikkonen started his second year with the British-based outfit who won multiple championships under their old names of Renault and Benetton.
It was also the first season-opening win by a team called Lotus since American Mario Andretti, who went on to take the title that year, triumphed in Argentina in 1978.
The second round is in Malaysia this weekend.
