Kimi Raikkonen ran away with the victory in the opening round of the Formula One Championship, in a race that was as much about strategy as it was keeping the new Pirelli rubber in check.

Reminiscent of so many times last year, Sebastian Vettel appeared to runaway with the lead after teammate Mark Webber was slow off the line, struggling with electrical issues throughout the race. Quickly being eaten up by the two Ferraris, Webber quickly slipped down to sixth place, while Raikkonen slotted behind Lewis Hamilton and the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso.

With most of the field starting on the Pirelli supersofts, Vettel was forced to pit only on lap seven, with many following suit soon after. Raikkonen’s Lotus, known for its ability to maintain tires, was able to stay out until lap nine. But the surprise of the opening laps and the race was Adrian Sutil in the Force India. In his first race after being absent from the grid in 2012, Sutil lead for a number of laps on medium tires until being forced to pit on lap 21, eventually finishing an impressive seventh.

In his first race with the Mercedes AMG team, Hamilton was able to qualify his car an impressive third place, and saw himself in fourth after the opening corner melee. In front of Raikkonen and teammate Nico Rosberg, the Mercedes duo showed a great ability to maintain their tires, with Hamilton lasting until lap 12. Rosberg meanwhile lead a small portion of the race early on, before retiring on lap 26 with electrical issues.

Of the top five teams last year, the most unimpressive were the McLaren squad, whose car was critiqued highly by driver Jenson Button and team principal Martin Whitmarsh after a poor qualifying session that saw newcomer Sergio Perez starting way back in 15th. Button struggled for pace throughout the race, battling in the mid-field. He qualified 10th and finished ninth, while Perez placed 10th.

It was clear the two stop strategy was beneficial to a number of teams. With Vettel and Alonso stopping for a third time before lap 40, Raikkonen was able to race past Sutil on lap 43 and take advantage of the open roads for a comfortable win.

Of the rookie racers, Mexican Esteban Guttierez was able to finish his Sauber in 13th after starting 18th on the grid. Williams Valterri Bottas performed impressively throughout the weekend, qualifying ahead of his teammate Pastor Maldonado by one place in 16th, and finishing in 14th. Marusssia drivers Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton finished 15th and 17th respectively, while Caterham’s Giedo Van der Garde placed 18th after a long battle back and forth with Chilton.

Following the strong performances by Alonso (second) and Massa (fourth), Ferrari leads the constructors championship with 30 points. Lotus sits in second with 26 points after Raikkonen’s victory and a single point by Romain Grosjean (10th). Red Bull is currently in third after Vettel’s third place and Webber’s sixth place finish. Mercedes and Force India each have 10 points, while McLaren sits back in sixth with two points.

Photos: Lotus F1, Force India F1, Mercedes AMG F1, Pirelli