Alan Permane congratulates Raikkonen before Kimi walks out and salutes the crowd outside. Sir Jackie Stewart keen to pass on his thoughts too. Raikkonen ended the race 12.4s clear and there was generally 10s between each of the top five drivers.

Vettel still smiling and keen to chat with Alonso - there seems to be even more respect there this year - and three world champions will take to the podium. As the drivers come out and salute the crowd, a quick mention for Sutil and Bianchi - both with really impressive performances today.

As the national anthems ring out I recall how Raikkonen was after his first win last year: within 20 minutes of the end of the race I saw him walking round the paddock with a beer in his hand... Well deserved celebrations which I expect will be repeated tonight! Indeed, this is the exact same podium as in Abu Dhabi.

Vettel and Alonso clink champagne bottles and now it's time to hear briefly from the drivers...

Raikkonen on the strategy: "I thought it should be easy to do it ... I knew that I had a good car but I had a good feeling that I could do well today. The car has been very good all weekend and it was a pretty nice race, not so difficult."

Alonso says he's feeling "Fantastic. It was a fantastic race for us fighting all through the race. The race was action every lap and personally enjoyable. In the end a little bit sad not to win the race but Kimi was fantastic today, the Lotus car as well ... we have a very interesting year ahead!"

Vettel asked where the pace went: "First of all we can be happy with today. I think we could see after a very good start that the tyres were falling apart and we couldn't go as long as other people. I think we were third quickest today in the race and I am happy with third place. You have to admit sometimes that other people are faster."

Raikkonen told he's leading the championship: "It feels good but it's only one race ... there's a lot of work to do to try and win the championship"

Alonso throws his cap in to the crowd and as last year's top three in the 2012 championship (in reverse order) leave the podium, we're going to end our coverage. All the reaction will be on the site very soon, so stay with ESPN. Laurence is already out in the paddock working hard and you can keep up on Twitter too. Thanks for all your comments today, see you next week for Malaysia!

Lap 58

Raikkonen starts his final lap with an 11.5s lead. No safety car, no rain, and a big lead. This is impressive. Can't say it's thanks to hot conditions either! Sutil looks to be holding on in seventh for now. can Perez find a way past Grosjean?

Here comes Raikkonen, two corners to go...

KIMI RAIKKONEN WINS THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

Alonso comes home a distant second, while Vettel is third and Massa fourth. Hamilton crosses the line fifth just ahead of Webber in sixth. Sutil with a great final lap to retain seventh from di Resta. Button takes ninth with Grosjean just 0.6s ahead of Perez in tenth.

Perfect drive form Raikkonen. Nails the two-stop strategy and, typically, doesn't make a mistake. That's the second victory in four races for Raikkonen after his win in Abu Dhabi last year.

Lap 57

Raikkonen does the fastest lap of the race and is 10 seconds clear with two laps to go. The gaps are growing between the front runners as the race nears its end. Perez hassling Grosjean but can't find a way through. Di Resta 1.8s behind Sutil

Lap 56

Three laps to go and Raikkonen is now 8.3s clear after doing a personal best lap. Alonso almost ran in to the back of Pic under braking for turn 15, as he lost the rear but disaster just averted. Button with a good lap gets himself clear of Grosjean and Perez is now behind the Lotus. Something might have happened between Vergne and Grosjean

Lap 55

Raikkonen leads by 6.1s while Vettel is now 17.8s off the lead. Where did Red Bull's pace go? I warned that qualifying pace was one thing, but still...

Sutil is 4.8s ahead of team-mate di Resta but Sutil may be able to hold on to 8th

Lap 54

Alonso cuts the gap to 6.7s as we enter the final five laps. Hamilton is catching Massa but is 17s back so won't close up enough. Button in 9th has Grosjean and Vergne right behind him