The cars can be as strong as possible, but it still takes an excellent driver to get the most out of them. Button has certainly done that over the past two years, after previously driving for teams such as Honda, which provided very little chance for a good race finish.

Button's skill was combined with good fortune Sunday when his fears of the setting sun creating dangerous racing were unfounded due to constant cloud cover. His early pit strategy to switch off of wets also paid off considerably, although his off-track excursion on the out lap was harrowing. Nevertheless, Button was clearly the man to beat after Sebastian Vettel again was felled by mechanical gremlins, this time with his brakes.

Because of his misfortune, Vettel made history in Australia. The 22-year-old German became the first driver since 2000 to claim the first two pole positions of the season yet come away with no race wins to show for it. Mika Hakkinen suffered the same misfortune that season after coming off consecutive world championships.

Going back a bit further, it gets considerably more serious, as it also happened to Ayrton Senna in the first two races of 1994, just prior to his death at Imola in the third event of the season. Before that, it hadn't happened since 1976 and 1977, when the eccentric James Hunt managed the feat in consecutive years. Hunt went on to win the 1976 world championship by the narrowest of margins.

The past five instances when a driver won the first two poles of the season and failed to win either race:

A few other drivers had some notable performances at Albert Park, good and bad:

Robert Kubica took Renault to a runner-up finish; he now has two podiums in his past four races overall. Vitantonio Liuzzi of Force India again collected points, finishing seventh. Last race it was Fernando Alonso who had the fantastic start. This time, it was teammate Felipe Massa who started strong, collecting three places before the first turn. By doing so, he avoided the collision between Button, Alonso and Michael Schumacher. Schumacher's front wing was damaged, and an early pit stop to replace the wing set the tone early for his disappointing day.

This weekend, Formula One is off to Malaysia, looking to continue the thrilling racing that ensued at Australia. Traditionally the second event of the season, the weather over Sepang last year caused significant problems, as the race was halted after just 31 laps due to torrential rain, with Button being declared the winner.

On the calendar since 1999, Sepang provides a challenging 15 turns with two massive straights separated by a hairpin leading to the finish. The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke, who has a significant influence on the current F1 calendar. He's also behind the designs of such tracks as Bahrain, Shanghai, Valencia and the Yas Marina circuit that debuted last season. While the courses are undoubtedly stunning, a common criticism is that they often produce less than thrilling racing with limited overtaking.

Malaysia has a chance to continue where Australia left off, however, as the long straights as well as the considerable width of the track make for numerous passing opportunities.

In recent years, the course has not been kind to Massa, who seems to succeed most anywhere. In seven career visits to Sepang, Massa has never finished better than fifth, collecting no more than four points in any event. On five occasions, he earned a single point or fewer. If any, this looks like the season to change his fortunes.