Raikkonen wins tense opening race

Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen beat Ferrari's Fernando Alonso in a tense strategic battle in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Raikkonen made only two pit stops for fresh tyres compared to Alonso's three and the Finn carefully managed his race to hold off the Ferrari's challenge. Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel took third ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes. Red Bull's Mark Webber was sixth and Force India's Paul di Resta eighthJenson Button salvaged ninth for struggling McLaren ahead of the second Lotus of Romain Grosjean. Raikkonen had started in seventh place on the grid but a good start put him up to fourth in the early laps. Lotus put him on a two-stop strategy and he managed his tyres carefully to move into the lead on lap 23 as the other front-runners - Alonso, Massa and Vettel - made their second of three stops.