MELBOURNE, April 2: Renault’s Fernando Alonso won an incident-packed Australian Grand Prix on Sunday to take a 14-point lead in the Formula One standings after three races. The 24-year-old world champion claimed his second victory of the season when he established an early lead then held off McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen to win by less than two seconds on a dramatic afternoon at Albert Park.

Germany’s seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher was among a handful of drivers involved in high-speed crashes that interrupted the race.

Schumacher’s team mate Felipe Massa also wrecked his Ferrari when he slammed into a wall while Juan Pablo Montoya, Christian Klien, Jarno Trulli, Nico Rosberg and Vitantonio Liuzzi were also involved in accidents.

Briton Jenson Button, who started on pole position, avoided most of the mayhem only to pull over within sight of the finish line when his Honda’s engine blew and burst into flames. He had been in fifth place.

Almost half the drivers failed to complete the 57-lap race while the safety car was introduced on four occasions.

Ralf Schumacher steered his Toyota to third place, despite a stop-go penalty for exceeding the pit-lane speed limit, ahead of fellow German Nick Heidfeld’s BMW Sauber and Alonso’s Italian team mate Giancarlo Fisichella.

Canadian Jacques Villeneuve was sixth for BMW Sauber, Button’s Brazilian team mate Rubens Barrichello was seventh with Red Bull’s Coulthard claiming a single point for eighth.

American Scott Speed had crossed the line in his Scuderia Toro Rosso ahead of Coulthard but was stripped of his point and relegated to ninth place for breaking the rules when he overtook the Scotsman under a yellow flag.

Speed was also fined $5,000 for swearing at a fellow competitor during the stewards’ hearing.

Alonso has 28 points to 14 for Fisichella and Raikkonen. Schumacher and Button are level on 11. Renault lead the constructors’ standings with 42 to McLaren’s 23.

Results: 1. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 1:34:27.870; 2. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) McLaren +00:01.829; 3. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Toyota 00:24.824; 4. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 00:31.032; 5. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Renault 00:38.421; 6. Jacques Villeneuve (Canada) BMW Sauber 00:49.554; 7. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 00:51.904; 8. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull-Ferrari 00:53.983; 9. Scott Speed (US) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 01:18.817.

Retired: Jenson Button (Britain) Honda; 11. Christijan Albers (Netherlands) MF1-Toyota 1 lap; 12. Takuma Sato (Japan) Super Aguri-Honda 2 laps; 13. Yuji Ide (Japan) Super Aguri-Honda 3 laps.—Reuters