Lewis Hamilton got his Formula One world championship attempt off to a perfect start with an easy win in the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne.

Hamilton dominated from pole position, with only seven cars finishing the 58-lap race. He won 5.4 seconds ahead of BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld.

Nico Rosberg finished third for the Williams team.

It was a disastrous day for Ferrari with both Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa failing to finish the race, which was marred by some spectacular crashes.

Hamilton told the McLaren team on his radio, “Fantastic job. The car was incredible. Thanks very much.”

The British McLaren driver made a clean start from pole position. First corner problems also saw Ferraris’ Felipe Massa head for the pits as he lost out in a battle for third with Heikki Kovalainen.

Four other cars, including Jenson Button’s Honda and Anthony Davidson in the Super Aguri, were forced to retire.

But it was Hamilton’s day, and the season gets off to a familiar start — at least if last season’s opening races are anything to go by.

“It was a super race and I dominated it from the beginning,” Hamilton said later. “I was able to drive at a steady pace without feeling any pressure. The three safety car periods meant there was never a time to relax and the whole situation was a bit like Canada last year when I claimed my first victory. We constantly had to change our strategy and the strategists were on the ball throughout. The car was fantastic to drive and we must keep on pushing because Ferrari are a great team and will do a good job.”

The first three were :

1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 58 laps one hour 34 minutes 50.616 seconds
2. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber +5.478 secs
3. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota +8.163

Following its disastrous Formula One season last year, in which it was fined a staggering £50m for allegedly possessing technical secrets belonging to Ferrari, McLaren has now posted a loss of £2.3m for 2006. This is down from £14.3m profit the year bafore.

The McLaren Group is is part-owned by Mercedes, with a 40pc stake, and Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat, with £30pc. Ron Dennis owns part of the rest with the Saudi-run TAG Group.

The Group was hit on all fronts. Sales of its £300,000 flagship car, the SLR, produced with Mercedes, fell from 649 in 2005 to 261 in 2006.

The ban on tobacco advertising in F1 reduced its turnover to £206.6m, and Lewis Hamilton’s failure to secure the world title meant further losses. Without the rookie’s efforts though, Fernando Alonso may well have won the title for the team.

Even a great performance by Lewis counted against them in 2007. Truly the stars were not on their side. They will be praying for better fortune this year.

After the racist taunts he suffered in Barcelona 10 days ago, Lewis Hamilton returned to Spain for more testing. In Jerez he drove before a well-mannered crowd of around 1000 — and clocked the fastest time.

With rival team Ferrari absent, the McLaren driver held off test driver Pedro de la Rosa by 0.2 seconds and BMW’s Robert Kubica by half a second.

Hamilton said, “It’s great to get back out on the track in Spain. We have another two days here and there’s a lot we need to get done.”

De la Rosa commented on the Barcelona furore, “The Spanish fans are educated and peaceful people. So much has been said about this issue. The important thing for me is that at this test it can be demonstrated that all drivers are treated with respect, which has always been the case.”

After one of the most fractious seasons in 2007, let’s hope his sentiments carry forward into 2008.

Oh what a tangled web we weave …

And surely nothing is more tangled than McLaren’s relationship with Formula One authorities over the legality of … well, just about everything it seems.

Lewis Hamilton’s strong hopes of becoming F1 World Champion next season face a huge challenge even before the start the new session. The FIA, Formula One’s governing body, has summoned the McLaren team to court on February 14, one month before the first race of the 2008 jamboree. Investigators are said to have found potentially “illegal traces of Ferrari influence” in the car that Hamilton is lined up to drive.

The Spygate saga is still with us, despite the enormous $100m fine levied against the team last season. Make no mistake, this could be fatal to McLaren and Hamilton’s chance of racing at all in 2008.

It seems that a number of forensic computer experts and lawyers have combed through McLaren’s files and designs and interviewed staff. They have also put the car through a series of stringent checks in an operation unique in Formula One.

Our guess? F1 will not shoot itself in the foot by virtually eliminating its brightest star from next season. To do so would be a financial disaster for the sport. And, after all, what is sport for if not to make money for the organizers and participants?

Watch this space.