Formula One racing's defending champion Michael Schumacher managed to avoid a massive first-turn pile up Sunday and went on to win the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in his third straight victory in the Melbourne race.

The German driving star finished nearly 19 seconds ahead of the Williams BMW of Juan Pablo Montoya of Colombia in second place. Kimi Raikkonen, in his first race, finished in third place in a McLaren.

Pole-sitter Rubens Barrichello of Brazil failed to make it through the very first turn when Ralf Schumacher ran into the back of Barrichello's braking Ferrari. The younger Schumacher brother's Williams car went airborne before landing in a cushioned tire barrier. The two drivers blame each other for the incident. Several cars piled up from the crash at the front of the pack, ending the day for eight drivers very early. There were no serious injures.

Only eight cars were still running halfway through the 58-lap race.

Four-time season-champion Michael Schumacher earned his 54th career victory by speeding his Ferrari around the street circuit in one hour, 35 minutes, 36.792 seconds.

Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AP.

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