Raikkonen 'pleased' with first win

Raikkonen dominated the race after taking the lead from pole-sitter Fernando Alonso after the Spaniards first pit-stop, and went on to win by a clear margin, a result which also gave him the lead in the drivers championship for the first time.

"I'm very pleased with my first ever Formula 1 victory, but I'm not sure it's really going to sink in until tomorrow," said Raikkonen. "I made a good start and was coming into the second corner when I saw two cars hitting each other. I was going to stay on the outside, but at the last moment I saw one of the cars going backwards and I managed to take the inside line - it was the right decision.

"I was taking it easy for the last 20 laps to ensure that I brought the car home and was not pushing. I'm going to fly home to Switzerland tonight so I don't think we will have a big party, but I'm sure we will celebrate a bit."

Ron Dennis was delighted to see his young charge take his first win. "Australia had some unusual circumstances clouding our competitiveness, but today we showed the excellent work done by the whole team and especially Michelin, who provided us with an outstanding tyre has paid off. A driver's first GP win is his more significant and Kimi will be even better for it."