Vettel storms to victory in Melbourne

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MELBOURNE - RED Bull's Sebastian Vettel made a perfect start to his Formula One world title defence with a pole to flag victory at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The 23-year-old German blasted off the grid and never looked troubled as he notched up his 11th career victory and third in a row going back to last season by 22.2 seconds from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

Renault's Vitaly Petrov claimed his and Russia's first ever podium in third place as the top three all ran two-stop strategies, despite the new Pirelli tyres which are supposed to degrade more quickly.

Ferrari's double world champion Fernando Alonso was fourth ahead of local hope Mark Webber in the other Red Bull.

Mexican rookie Sergio Perez was an impressive seventh for Sauber on his Formula One debut. -- REUTERS

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Motor racing-Formula driver and constructor standings

Provisional driver and constructor standings after the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, Melbourne on Sunday

Drivers Points:

1. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull 25

2. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 18

3. Vitaly Petrov (Russia) Renault 15

4. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 12

5. Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull 10

6. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 8

7. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Sauber 6

8. Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Sauber 4

9. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 2

10. Sebastien Buemi (Switzerland) Toro Rosso 1

11. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India 0

12. Paul Di Resta (Britain) Force India 0

13. Jaime Alguersuari (Spain) Toro Rosso 0

14. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) Renault 0

15. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Lotus 0

16. Jerome d'Ambrosio (Belgium) Virgin 0

Constructors Points:

1. RedBull - Renault 35

2. McLaren - Mercedes 26

3. Renault 15

4. Ferrari 14

5. Sauber - Ferrari 10

6. Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1

7. Lotus - Renault 0

7. Force India - Mercedes 0

. Virgin - Cosworth

. HRT - Cosworth

. Williams - Cosworth

. Mercedes

-- REUTERS