Lewis Hamilton has compared his victory in the 2008 season-opening Australian Grand Prix to his maiden triumph in the top flight in Montreal last year and, worryingly for his competitors, he revealed that he barely even broke into a sweat.
The McLaren-Mercedes ace expertly mastered both the lack of driver aids as well as a baking hot Albert Park circuit to dominate proceedings from lights to chequered flag in Melbourne, as many of his rivals defending world champion
Kimi Raikkonen included lost their heads under the southern hemisphere sun. Afterwards he underlined that the new regulations and stifling heat had barely affected him.
I felt fantastic! he enthused. It is the perfect way to begin the season. I never thought it would have been physically as [much of] a breeze as it was. I think coming into this year my preparation was much better; I am probably twice as fit this year compared to last year.
[The lack of driver aids made it] more demanding on the drivers, but also on the tyres and on the car. We have no engine braking, so it puts a lot more demand on the brakes, [meaning] the temperature from the brakes and the whole car is probably quite a lot higher than last year. In terms of racing, though, it's real racing. This is how it should be!
Hamilton was full of praise for his MP4-23 which most observers had predicted would come off second best in a head-to-head with
Ferrari's new F2008 for the first time in competitive action as well as the strategic calculations and quick-thinking reactions of his team, who timed his two pit-stops perfectly in a chaotic race.
The car was phenomenal, the 23-year-old asserted. It really was a complete dream compared to the car we had last year fantastic and quite easy to drive and pulling me in early for both my pit-stops really did help us in terms of safety cars and kept us out of trouble.
