Rain immediately before the start meant all cars began on intermediate tyres. Michael was hit by Fernando Alonso in the first corner and was forced to pit for a new nose, resuming the race at the back of the field. Nico was running in fifth place at the end of lap one.

With the track drying, both drivers pitted on lap eight to switch to slicks. With the soft option tyres suffering from degradation, Michael pitted for a fresh set on lap 29 with Nico following on lap 33, rejoining in 12th and 7th positions respectively.

An exciting end to the race saw Nico catch up to the closely-bunched group from Robert Kubica in second place to Mark Webber in sixth place. He was therefore in position to take advantage when Webber and Lewis Hamilton collided and move up to fifth place. Michael had a late surge to overtake Jaime Alguersuari and Pedro De La Rosa, collecting the final point for 10th place.

Ross Brawn: "Nico did a very good job today and pushed hard to get fifth place. He was in a reasonable position halfway through but we began to get concerned about his tyres. He had lost a position to Lewis and it looked like Mark would get past so we took the decision to bring him in. As expected with fresh tyres, he caught up with the pack towards the end and was able to take advantage of the ensuing incident with the cars ahead. Whether we gained from bringing him in or whether his original tyres could have held out is difficult to know. Michael had the first lap incident which made his race very difficult thereafter and he did a very good job to keep at it and score a point. Overall I'm pleased with how the team performed this weekend. We got the most out of the car but clearly need to find some more performance. It's not out of reach and we have a lot to look forward to over the next few races. Congratulations to Jenson on a great performance and victory today."

Norbert Haug: "A very entertaining race and indeed probably one of the best ever. The rain and the various tyre strategies mixed up the field and our drivers showed competitive speed. Better than fifth and tenth positions was possible but Michael was a victim of Button and Alonso coming together in the first corner which required a stop and nose change. Michael stopped three times in total so finishing in tenth position and in the points was the maximum that he could achieve after an excellent drive. Nico did a great job, finishing just over two seconds behind a podium position and in the same league with the fastest. Great job, Nico! We have scored points in all four starts and our speed in Melbourne was much better than in Bahrain. Congratulations to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and to Jenson Button. Their early tyre change was followed by a great and measured drive from Jenson. This was the 69th victory for Mercedes-Benz since Melbourne 1997 and I hope soon we will have a jubilee. Looking to the next race in Malaysia, everybody in the team is very dedicated to catching up and I am sure this will be achieved soon."

Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer Track Support: What a sad result. The only good thing from today was that we didn't have any engine problems, but that's it. It's a sad day – we had the tool to win the race. We need to tie all our work in all areas together in order to bounce back for the next race. I would like to congratulate Renault for their second place – well done to them.

Stefano Domenicali: We can be satisfied with this result. At the end of an incident packed race we managed to get one driver onto the podium and the other – who had been last after the first corner – into fourth spot. Fernando staged a fantastic climb through the field and might have got an even better result, but we know overtaking is always difficult, especially when it involves cars with similar performance levels. He was perfect when defending his position against Hamilton in the closing stages. Felipe got a really good start which formed the basis of his final result: he had a difficult weekend and I am sure this second consecutive podium is pleasing for him. Reliability however is the key factor, as we saw again today. In terms of the championship, today's result is very positive: those who are our strongest competitors at the moment picked up just a few points and even when compared to other drivers, we have extended our lead. Now we must remain focussed and prepare as well as possible for the next week's race in Malaysia, where we will again find different conditions to those we have experienced in the first two Grands Prix.

Chris Dyer: Before the race, we had hoped for a better result, but after what happened at the start and the first corner, with Fernando relegated to the back of the pack, we have to be happy with taking home a third and a fourth place. We opted to run just one set of dry tyres and that proved to be the right decision. If we had pitted a second time, we would definitely have lost a few places, while staying out on track, we knew our pursuers would catch us in the closing stages and then it would be a case of defending position which is exactly what happened, with a positive outcome. After two races, we are leading both championships and that means we can look forward with confidence to the rest of the season.

Sam Michael, Technical Director: It was good to get some more points, but we need to bring more performance to the car and to the engine. Doing both is the major part of our development programme over the next few races. Rubens drove well through all the conditions he faced today. Unfortunately, Nico was knocked out of the race by another car.

Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer: "Robert drove a brilliant race today. He made a good start on the intermediate tyres and I think we stopped to fit slicks at pretty much the ideal time. After that he drove and excellent race and managed his tyres perfectly to bring the car home in second place. Unfortunately Vitaly's race ended early as he got caught out in the damp conditions, but he has another weekend under his belt and will look to bounce back in Malaysia next weekend, where we will have some more new aero updates on the car."

Remi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations: "Today's result is excellent and we must dedicate it to the mechanics who have worked so hard over the last few weeks, and, of course, to Robert Kubica who delivered an exceptional performance. Without him we would not have been able to get this result. We're not yet at the level of the leading teams, but we will continue working hard to get there."

After a rain shower arrived just minutes before the start of the race, Tonio switched to the intermediate tyre on the grid. As the rain eased and a dry line emerged the Italian made a stop for the option dry tyres on lap nine. He remained on this set until the end of the race, overtaking the Sauber of Pedro de la Rosa for tenth on lap 20 and then keeping Rubens Barrichello, who was on a newer set of rubber, at bay. When Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber clashed in the closing stages Tonio was promoted to seventh to secure his second points finish of the year.

Adrian Sutil unfortunately did not finish the race as he reported a loss of power from his engine on lap seven. He returned to the pits for the team to attempt repairs however when a quick fix could not be made he retired on lap nine.

Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal: What a race we had here today! Thrilling to watch and a delight to see a Force India car in the top ten. Tonio drove a brilliant race, looking after his tyres for almost 50 laps, to secure his second points of the season. It was richly deserved for him. Moreover, the result confirms that our pace is there and we are now genuinely in the hunt for points. It is a shame for Adrian as this could have been his race, but we'll look at what went wrong so he can go for his first points of the season in Malaysia.

Mike Gascoyne: "Obviously a very disappointing start. Jarno had a hydraulic power pack fail on the grid, not something we've seen before and we couldn't get it changed in time. Balancing that was another strong race from Heikki who did really well staying out on the option tyre. He made a good start but lost a few places after the accident on the opening lap, but he did a great job to get the car home, keeping us tenth in the championship. And congratulations to Karun Chandhok for getting a finish!"

Tony Fernandes: "I guess we've got to have had some bad luck at some point and unfortunately it was today. I'm disappointed for Jarno, but Heikki did us proud - three places away from a point, and he was keeping pace with most of the other cars throughout the race. Maybe it would have been nice if three other cars had gone out so we could get a point, but, joking aside, it is good that at this stage of the season we're already thinking about points. We're in a nice position for Malaysia. We're looking forward to going home, and really looking forward to giving our fans something to shout about."

Dr. Colin Kolles, Team Principal: This result, having Karun ending up the race in 14th position is a great step forward. We reached the goal with one of the two cars in the finish. I'm sorry for Bruno because he did a good job all weekend. Karun Chandhok drove the team's first full race and finished in 14th position the first race for the team, what was really fantastic, especially with these difficult conditions. The team did a great job and brought two very competitive cars on the grid. Now we will keep on pushing and just focus on our preparation for Malaysia, where our season will really begin.

Peter Sauber, Team Principal: Looking at how the race evolved, it's a disappointing result. For a third of the race Pedro was able to defend ninth against Rubens Barrichello, but then he lost out, and in the penultimate lap he was also passed by Michael Schumacher and Jaime Alguersuari. Kamui's race didn't even last one lap. Following contact with another car his front wing broke, and he went off, unfortunately hitting other competitors.

Willy Rampf, Technical Director: It was a race start under difficult conditions. Kamui most probably had contact with another car and damaged his front wing. As a result the front wing broke in the braking zone of corner 6, and Kamui went off. Pedro won positions after the start, and we made the change from intermediates to slicks at the right moment. Our strategy was to finish the race with this set of tyres, which - looking at the overall result - was the right decision. However, the tyres degraded too much, and the lap times were not consistent enough, therefore we lost our chance to finish the race in ninth.

The Virgin Racing cars lined up for the start of the 58-lap race in the pit lane, after changing the collectors in both fuel systems following yesterday's fuel pick-up problem. The 'will it? - won't it?' weather conditions fired enough of a warning salvo to make most of the field decide to opt for intermediate tyres and it was definitely raining as the race got underway, although a full-blown downpour never materialised.

The start procedure worked well and Timo and Lucas avoided getting caught up in the first lap mayhem. The highlight of the opening laps was most definitely a lap 5 tussle with Michael Schumacher as he was working his way back up the field after an early pit stop. Timo in particular fought hard to keep him at bay and having been passed once he decided to have another go and retook Michael until giving way to the seven time world champion became inevitable. It was fun while it lasted!

Nick Wirth, Technical Director: "With the fuel pick-up problems we'd seen on Saturday, it was unfortunately necessary for us to break Parc Ferme this morning and convert our fuel system back to the specification that we had tested on Friday, albeit with further modifications. The team did a great job to get that done in time as we weren't allowed to start that work until midday today. Both cars therefore had to start from the pit lane and we were immediately into a very aggressive fuel-saving strategy, which we'd practised in the Simulators last week. The drivers and the team coped well with the unusual driving style that this called for, as well as the tricky conditions, and overall they both did a brilliant job for the team today. Lucas' race ended with an internal hydraulic leak, the cause of which we have yet to identify. We got to 70% distance with Timo and were on target to finish the race fuel-wise when it seems that a rear suspension bracket came loose and allowed some setting shims to eventually fall out, which ended his race. So ultimately we leave here yet to finish our first Grand Prix but with clear signs that our performance is improving."

John Booth, Team Principal: "Today I'd like to applaud the team on a terrific job in the face of a challenging set of circumstances, at the end of a difficult weekend. The start from the pit lane was seamless and the boys were 'on it' in out first live pit stops. We got to almost half distance with Lucas and nearly three-quarters of the race with Timo and with the problems we've had I am very proud of the way the team have coped. We can go into Malaysia with our heads held high and knowing that things will get better as we get more of the season under our belts."

Button started, like the rest of the field, on Bridgestone's Intermediate tyre after rain fell on Albert Park. The reigning champion was first to pit for a set of the soft dry compound Bridgestone Potenzas, and then drove all the way to the chequered flag on these tyres to score his first race victory of 2010.

Renault F1 team driver Robert Kubica used the same strategy to gain his first podium for his new team whilst Felipe Massa took third place for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, also on the same strategy. Pole-man Sebastian Vettel was unfortunate to exit the race from the lead in his Red Bull, whilst his team-mate Mark Webber set the race's fastest lap on lap 47 using the soft compound.

Hiroshi Yasukawa - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport: "What an entertaining race and superb showcase for our Bridgestone tyre technology. Congratulations to Jenson Button for his first win for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, and well done to Robert Kubica for his strong second place for the Renault F1 Team. Albert Park provided an excellent race environment and we are happy to have seen exciting racing for the fans here and around the world."

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development: "This was a great day for tyre performance, strategy and racing as we saw interesting action on track and a good illustration of the benefits of tyre management. The soft tyre was the preferred race tyre once the track dried, and this is a reflection of the track and weather conditions suiting the lower temperature working range tyre. Jenson Button did a superb job to look after his soft tyres for 52 laps for an impressive victory. Robert Kubica also completed a long stint showing good tyre management for second place. There was an interesting battle between the one stop strategies of the Ferraris and the two stop strategy of Lewis Hamilton. We are happy with the performance of our intermediate tyres which were used to start the race, with these heavy cars, and then performed well as the track dried.

"Careful tyre management meant the soft could last for so long in today's conditions and this provided a showcase of driver tyre management skills. The degradation of the soft was less than we would have seen on a fully dry track, and the lap times were quite slow because of this. The hard compound, as used by Rubens Barrichello, also delivered a good performance so we are happy."