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 Hamilton, who was No. 2 in last year's drivers championship, started from pole position and avoided the mayhem behind him for his fifth victory in 18 GP starts.
The 23-year-old British driver led from pole position and was never seriously threatened before finishing 5.4 seconds ahead of BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld in second place and 8.1 ahead of Williams' Nico Rosberg in third.
"We got away to a really great start -- we've done a superb job all weekend," 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 five laps to go. He earned one championship point when stewards excluded Rubens Barrichello's sixth-place for Honda because he left the pits while the exit lights were red. It was Ferrari's only point, representing the Italian team's worst season-opening race since 1992.
Only seven of the 22 cars on the grid finished the 58-lap race.
The race ended at the first corner for four cars, with 2005 Australian GP winner Giancarlo Fisishella 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 3.295-mile Albert Park circuit.
Fernando Alonso, the two-time drivers champion who is back at Renault after a season at McLaren, finished 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 sixth 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 was classified in the final points-paying position of eighth.
Hamilton, who was third here on debut last year behind Raikkonen and Alonso, said the win reminded him of his first F1 victory.
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"It was a bit like my first win last year in Montreal where we had four safety cars," he said. "It was a good challenge but we've all done a great job. ... I felt fantastic. You'd never thought it would have been as physically a breeze as it was. It's great preparation for Malaysia
-- bring it on, I'm really looking forward to it."
Hamilton, who was passed for the drivers title 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.
"It is the perfect way to begin the season," he said. "We need to continue with the momentum. We could have gone quicker, so I'm not particularly bothered by the Ferrari's pace."
Ferrari's Felipe Massa started in fourth place on the grid but spun out on the first corner, and had to pit twice in the first three laps before retiring on the 30th lap soon after a big collision with Red Bull's David Coulthard.
Raikkonen moved up from his starting place of 15th to third place 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 he headed directly for the pits.
The series moves to Malaysia next week.
[Associated Press; By JOHN PYE]
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