Iceman burns them off On a day when the temperatures dropped and cool autumnal showers threatened to turn the Australian Grand Prix into a lottery, it was appropriate that the man nicknamed The Iceman kept calm and unflustered and powered to victory in the Albert Park event. Kimi Raikkonen is a man of few words who prefers to let his actions do his talking. In that vein, it's fair to say that the Finn began the 2013 formula one season shouting through a megaphone as he showed his class and experience to take the Australian GP for the second time. The first had been in 2007, when he started from pole position and went on to win the world championship. In 2007, Raikkonen was in his first season at Ferrari, having joined the Italian squad from McLaren, and at the peak of his powers. Kimi Raikkonen celebrates on the podium after winning the Australian Grand Prix. The rest of his time with Ferrari proved frustrating and he shocked formula one when he went into "retirement" at the end of the 2009 season, quitting to drive rally cars for two years before returning last year with Lotus. He brought the team a win towards the end of last year in Abu Dhabi, reinforcing the old saying that while form might be temporary, class is permanent. And he showed that axiom to be true once again on Sunday evening in the gathering gloom when he brought his black and gold Lotus home 12.4 seconds clear of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, with Sebastian Vettel - in the first of the Red Bulls - 9.8 seconds adrift of the Spaniard in third place. Fourth home was Alonso's teammate Felipe Massa, with Lewis Hamilton a promising fifth in his debut drive for Mercedes. Australia's hope, Mark Webber, had qualified second on the grid in the Sunday morning session, but his chance of glory disappeared in the opening seconds. His teammate Vettel got off to a flying start, but the Australian was swamped and ended the first lap back in seventh position after his clutch slipped. Webber battled throughout the afternoon and at the end was nearest at the finish, in sixth position. The strength of the field can be gleaned from the fact that four of the first five home have won world championships, Massa being the exception. It was an intriguing race throughout, with all teams conscious of the fickle weather that threatened at any time to play a significant role. Tyres, as ever, were the great decider, and the way the rubber affects performance was perfectly illustrated by the tactical decision of the Force India team to send out its German driver, Adrian Sutil, on medium compounds while the bulk of the field was on the supersoft tyres with which they qualified. Starting 12th on the grid, he went out with a heavier fuel load and longer-lasting tyres, meaning he could stay out much longer without pitting. For several laps, as the stops unwound, Force India led the field, with Sutil, having his first start in F1 for two seasons, putting in a terrific performance to keep the hard chargers at bay for longer than anyone anticipated. But the big guns could not be denied, and Sutil's goose was cooked when Raikkonen went past him on lap 43 - 15 from the finish. Raikkonen now leads the world championship for the first time in years, but he, like the rest of the pursuing pack, knows that not too much can be read into the outcome of one race. Alonso will feel that he has a real chance of regaining the title he last won in 2006 after such a promising start. Ferrari began last year relatively poorly, but the Spaniard still managed to mount a challenge for the championship. Raikkonen, who qualified seventh, said that it had been the plan to only stop twice, and that he had been hopeful his tyres would work well. "I had some doubts because it was the first race and you don't know how the tyres will be, but I knew I had a good car," he said. Alonso is confident Ferrari can quickly build on the strengths it displayed in its finish in Australia. We had a very bad start to the season last year. This year we feel much more optimistic. Vettel, who won this race in 2011 (Alonso had triumphed on the streets of Albert Park in 2006) had no excuses. He set pole position and led early, but had to pit to change his supersoft tyres within a few laps. "We could see that the tyres were falling apart after a very good start," the German triple world champion said. We have to admit sometimes that other people are faster. We had a great qualifying session, but the afternoon did not work out the way we would have liked.