In a season in which tyre management is expected to play a crucial role, Kimi Raikkonen and Lotus stole a march on the opposition with a faultless two-stop race in Australia.

But whilst the emphatic nature of the Finn's victory has led many to label him as championship favourite, the 33-year-old is resolutely refusing to get carried away.

“It feels good but it’s only after one race,” said Raikkonen. “It doesn’t really change our aim and how we approach this year.

“Definitely, we are happy with the win but there is an awful lot to still to do to win the championship. We seemed to have a good car in Albert Park, so hopefully it works well in the next races also.”

“Of course I’m happy that we didn’t really have to go full speed all the time so it’s kind of a good sign, a good race for us, but as I said, it might be a completely different story in Malaysia, so there’s nothing to jump up and be so extra happy about. It’s a long season and in the end we want to be on the top for all the races and it’s going to be a hard season for that.”

Conditions in Australia were unusually cold and damp, but conditions for round two of the championship in Malaysia are expected to be hot and humid. The Sepang circuit is also considerably different to the Albert Park track, with numerous high-speed corners that will place different demands on both car and tyres. Therefore, as Lotus’s technical director James Allison explained, it’s not a forgone conclusion that the team will perform as strongly in Malaysia.

“Kimi was full of praise for his car on Sunday night and both drivers showed decent pace at various points in the weekend, but I think if you look at Romain’s (Grosjean) post-race comments it shows how marginal these things can be,” he said.

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