Lewis Hamilton was undoubtedly extremely fortunate to finish third at the Australian Grand Prix. But I think it could even prove fortunate for Jenson Button‘s championship hopes.

It’s very early to be talking of such matters, of course. But what the hell.

It’s fair to say that Brawn GP is the top team at the moment, but it’s not likely to stay that way. The Ferrari isn’t bad, was unfortunate not to get better results on Sunday, and is probably expected to outperform McLaren this coming Sunday in Malaysia.

What Button needs to have a chance of taking the world title is dominance early in the season, and when other teams catch up, for there to be a number of teams fighting for victory, thus spreading the points thinly over many drivers.

So if we assume that Ferrari and McLaren are going to be two of the teams which will catch up with Brawn, then it’s to Brawn’s advantage for McLaren to be taking points off Ferrari in a period when Ferrari should be outscoring McLaren.

Does that make sense? It does in my head.