Button wins Australian GP, Webber ninth

Reigning Formula One world champion Jenson Button has cruised to his second straight
Australian Grand Prix victory as disaster struck again for local favourite Mark
Webber.

The British McLaren driver outpaced his rivals by 12 seconds, taking the chequered
flag ahead of Polish Renault pilot Robert Kubica with Ferrari's Felipe Massa third.
Webber, who started from second spot on the grid, finished a lowly ninth after
tangling twice with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.
On lap 16 the Australian Red Bull driver ran wide and fell to eighth, before
climbing back up the order.
Then two laps from the end of the 58-lap race, the pair again clashed, with Webber
limping back to the pits.
The race began chaotically in greasy conditions after drizzle started to fall half
an hour before the start.
Massa made a dynamic start, carving his way through the grid from fifth to overtake
Webber and slot into second behind Vettel.
But at the first corner Fernando Alonso's Ferrari and the McLaren of Button collided
as the Spaniard appeared to cut across the British driver.
Alonso spun in the middle of the pack at the first turn while seconds later Kamui
Kobayashi in the BMW Sauber and the Williams of Nico Hulkenberg crashed heavily.
By lap nine the majority of the field were in the pits for slick tyres as the track
began to dry.
Webber was out but ran wide on the new rubber and was relegated to sixth as Vettel
took over the lead from Button, who had cleverly gambled on an early pit stop.
Button inherited top spot when Vettel ran off the track in an unforced error, ending
his race, and leaving the McLaren star to hang onto his lead for the win.



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