THEY never saw which way he went. Briton Jenson Button cleared out in front of the field from the start of the Australian Grand Prix and was never headed, giving the reborn Brawn GP team a fairytale start to the 2009 formula one season.

As he entered the post-race press conference a beaming Button asked "can you pinch me next time around".

This, only the second victory of his career, was surely the sweetest moment of a decade in the sport that promised much but delivered relatively little.

"It's not just for me, it's for the whole team. It always looks easier than it is, (but) this is a fairytale ending to the first race of our career together. The whole team have done a great job. This is what we deserve … Bring on Malaysia."

As the temperatures cooled and the light dappling through the trees lining the circuit in the park faded, the 29-year-old Monaco-based Englishman never looked in danger of finishing anywhere other than first after avoiding the chaos behind him at the first corner as his teammate Rubens Barrichello, who started alongside him on the front row of the grid, baulked at the start and caused pandemonium for those trying to get through.

As Button streaked off to a lead he never relinquished and the young German Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull Racing entry gave forlorn chase, several drivers knew their race was about to be ruined — among them Australia's Mark Webber. Vettel's Red Bull teammate, who would have had hopes of a points-paying finish, after starting eighth on the grid, saw his dream dashed when he was struck by Barrichello in a collision that also sent the BMW of Nick Heidfeld flying.

The carnage at the start was mirrored at the end when Vettel and BMW's Polish driver Robert Kubica, dicing for second place, threw caution to the wind and crashed into each other just three laps from the finish as Kubica tried to get past on the outside. Both cars were out of the race, allowing Barrichello to move into second spot to complete the Brawn quinella.

The McLaren of world champion Lewis Hamilton, so imperious when clearing out to a maiden Australian victory last year, was, for most of this Grand Prix, never in the frame. Yet when the dust settled, the 24-year-old Briton, who had driven a gritty race in very different circumstances, found himself in fourth position, just behind the Toyota of Jarno Trulli. That didn't last long, as Hamilton was promoted when Trulli was demoted for overtaking while the safety car was on the track.

In a sport where money and technology invariably ensure that the glory goes to the big battalions, this was a fairytale ending. Button and Barrichello looked to be not just out of jobs but perhaps at the end of their careers late last year when Honda announced they were withdrawing from the sport. Ross Brawn, hired from Ferrari to fix the team, eventually organised a management buy-out as Button, Barrichello and hundreds more sweated on their futures. They came to Melbourne without even a sponsor — something sorted out on Saturday when Virgin boss Richard Branson breezed in to announce a deal — but go to Malaysia next weekend having made history, as winners of a GP at the first attempt.

As Brawn chief executive Nick Fry said: "It's what everyone has wanted for so long. They have worked so hard."

Source: [www.theage.com.au]