MELBOURNE, March 9 (UPI) -- David Coulthard of Scotland took advantage of a mistake by Colombian Juan Montoya with 10 laps to go Sunday and won the season-opening Formula One Australian Grand Prix.
Montoya lost control of his Williams BMW on lap 48 and tapped the wall before recovering and getting back on the track behind Coulthard's McLaren Mercedes.
The 32-year-old Scotsman, who started 11th, went on to capture his 13th career F1 checkered flag by more than eight seconds over Montoya. He averaged 120.623 miles per hour en route to his second win here (1997).
"The team did a great job and we had the right strategy, which allowed us to optimize the unusual circumstances with the weather and the safety car," Coulthard said. I think our performance showed that we have taken a step forward and further improved our competitiveness."
Coulthard's teammate, Kimi Raikkonen of Finland, finished third after leading early. The young Finn was assessed a drive-thru penalty for speeding on pit lane and dropped to fifth. He was the last driver to make his first pit stop after 32 laps.
Montoya finished second here for the second year in a row. Under the new points system, he earned eight championship points.
Five-time world champion Michael Schumacher of Germany started from the pole but came in fourth for Ferrari, which failed to record a podium finish for the first time since the European Grand Prix in September 1999.
Schumacher regained the lead on lap 44 but also was given a black flag penalty when the side boards of his car dislodged and hung along the side of the vehicle. It proved costly as he came back on the track in fourth place.
Schumacher won this race each of the past three years on his way to the F1 title.
Italy's Jarni Trulli was fifth in a Renault, with Spanish teammate Fernando Alonso seventh behind Germany's Heinz-Harald Frentzen in a Sauber Petronas. The last driver to earn a point in the new scoring system was Ralf Schumacher in a Williams BMW, who overcame slow pit stops and a spin on the track.
To make the circuit more competitive, F1 will award points down to eighth place on the scale of 10 for the winner, eight for second, sixth for third and one fewer for each remaining position.
Rubens Barrichello of Brazil, Ferrari's No. 2 driver, slid on the grass and hit the wall on lap five to become the first racer to retire.
Brazilian Cristiano da Matta, who last year won the CART championship, lasted just seven laps in his F1 debut after spinning on the gravel.
The only others in the 20-car field to finish the race were BAR Honda drivers Jacques Villeneuve of Canada and Jenson Button of England. They were more than a minute behind Coulthard.
