MELBOURNE, Australia ? McLaren?s Lewis Hamilton started from pole position and avoided the carnage behind him to win an accident-filled Australian Formula One Grand Prix.

Hamilton was never seriously threatened and won in 1 hour, 34 minutes and 50.616 seconds to claim his fifth victory in 18 GP starts.

The 23-year-old British driver was 5.4 seconds ahead of BMW Sauber?s Nick Heidfeld in second place and 8.1 ahead of Williams? Nico Rosberg in third.

?It was a super race which I controlled from the beginning,? Hamilton said. ?It was close going to the first corner, but I was able to keep it cool and look after the tires. ?From then, I paced myself and didn?t overdo it ? I had plenty of time in me.?

Defending champion Kimi Raikkonen?s Ferrari ran out of gas as he entered the pits with only five laps to go ? he was one of 15 cars that did not complete the 58-lap race.

But Raikkonen got one championship point when stewards excluded Honda?s Rubens Barrichello?s sixth-place because he left the pits while the exit lights were red.

The race ended at the first corner for four cars, with 2005 Australian GP winner Giancarlo Fisichella skidding off in the Force India team?s debut.

Local favorite Mark Webber and Honda?s Jenson Button were also among the five cars out by the end of the first lap on the 5.303-kilometer (3.295-mile) Albert Park circuit.

Alonso fourth

Fernando Alonso, the two-time drivers? champion who is back at Renault after a season with McLaren, moved up from 11th on the grid to finish fourth. It was the first time since 2003 that he did not finish on the podium at Melbourne.

Hamilton?s McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen was fifth, with Barrichello crossing in sixth and Williams? No. 2 Kazuki Nakajima seventh ? the only cars to finish. Nakajima was elevated to 6th place after the race.

Four-time Champ Car series winner Sebastien Bourdais was prominent throughout in his F1 debut before the engine in his Toro Rosso failed with two laps to go, but he was classified in 7th place.

Hamilton, who was third here on debut last year behind Raikkonen and Alonso, said the win reminded him of his first F1 victory.

?The three safety car periods meant that there was never time to relax and the whole situation was like a bit like Canada last year when I claimed my first victory,? he said.

Hamilton, who was overhauled for the drivers? title in his rookie season by Raikkonen in the last race at Brazil in 2007, gained an early advantage in what was expected to be another McLaren vs. Ferrari season.

Crash galore

Ferrari No. 2 Felipe Massa started in fourth place but spun out on the first corner, and had to pit twice in the first three laps before retiring on the 30th lap after colliding with David Coulthard and shunting the Red Bull off the track with its front left and rear right wheels dangling off.

Raikkonen moved up from his starting place of 15th to third on the 30th lap before running into the gravel after an overtaking maneuver on Kovalainen.

His wheels appeared to lock and he drove straight off the track, coming back in 11th place and headed directly for the pits. His point, awarded an hour after the finish, was defending constructor champion Ferrari?s only point of the opening race.

Toyota?s Timo Glock had the most spectacular crash, running wide on turn 12 in 45th lap, getting airborne on a curb and rotating his disintegrating car into a barrier.

With no traction control or engine-assisted braking on the F1 cars for the first time since 2001, there was more focus on the skill of drivers and trouble was widely expected on the grid. /AP