Felipe Massa spent a good portion of the Australian Grand Prix battling with Jenson Button for position, the McLaren chasing the Ferrari for the first stint of the race.

Massa qualified eighth, well behind Button's fourth place grid slot, but a great start by the Brazilian left Button sitting behind him. Lap after lap went by until eventually Button took the place by running wide, and was thus handed a drive through penalty. Despite that, Massa finished the race behind Button, in 7th place.

After the racing action was over, Button criticised the way Massa had defended the position, suggesting the Ferrari left him no choice but to take avoiding action. Felipe responded: "It was a good fight, no? I was holding my position and he was not able to pass me. He tried many times and I was able to stay there many times. Then, when he passed me, he passed me in a not allowed situation. He had to give me back the position or they penalised him, which was the case."