Finland's Kimi Raikkonen scored the maiden victory of his career at the Malaysian Grand Prix in Kuala Lumpur today to snatch the lead in the world championship.

The 23-year-old, who has twice come close to winning a race, triumphed in his 36th grand prix by over 39 seconds from Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello.

Raikkonen became the fourth youngest driver in history to win a race and is 83 days younger than five-time world champion Michael Schumacher was when he scored his maiden triumph in 1992.

Fernando Alonso followed up becoming the first Spaniard and youngest ever driver to win pole by becoming the first driver from his country to finish on the podium since Alfonso De Portago in Britain in 1956 with third place for Renault.

Germany's Ralf Schumacher ended a difficult weekend with fourth place for Williams-BMW while Renault's Jarno Trulli was fifth.

But five-time champion Michael Schumacher is still searching for his first win of the season after finishing sixth for Ferrari.

The German was handed a drive-through penalty for hitting Trulli in a second corner shunt which wrecked his chances of a win.

Jenson Button grabbed his first points for new team BAR-Honda with seventh spot while Nick Heidfeld rounded off the scoring with eighth place for Sauber.

British rookie Ralph Firman, who started in last place, claimed his first grand prix finish in only his second race with a 10th spot for Jordan-Ford that will be a massive boost to his confidence.

But Justin Wilson, racing with a 'Malaysia for Peace' slogan on his Minardi, is still looking for his first finish after retiring, as did David Coulthard after only three laps.

Coulthard's electrical problem denied him a likely second victory of the season and instead he saw it fall to team-mate Raikkonen who also grabbed the lead in the drivers' standings from him by six points.

The race began in dramatic fashion with Schumacher sending Trulli into a slide after hitting the rear of his Renault as he tried to hang onto third place from Coulthard who had made a blistering start.

Schumacher, who slid on the grass, had to go in for repairs and then suffered another visit to the pits when he was penalised for causing Trulli's accident.

Alonso hared into the lead but the lighter fuel load with which he grabbed his historic pole yesterday sent him into the pits earlier than his rivals and Raikkonen never put a foot wrong after taking over at the front.

The Espoo-born driver had seen his hopes of a maiden victory dashed when he spun on oil in France last year while he would have won this year's season opener in Australia but for just breaking the speed limit in the pit-lane.

But there were no mistakes this time as he underlined his status as a potential future world champion by extending McLaren's lead in the manufacturers' championship.

Raikkonen, who started seventh, said: "It's difficult to say how I feel now - it's tomorrow morning when I will know what it feels like to win my first grand prix.

"It was hot out there, but I could ease off for the final laps. I knew I was catching Fernando, but luckily we ran much longer for the first stint. It was a trouble-free race after that.

"I hope this is the start of a McLaren-Mercedes reign in F1. We are leading in both championships and we are in good shape - I hope when we get the new car we will go even quicker."

Barrichello said of the first lap incident: "I was lucky because there were so many bits on the track."

Alonso, battling with a fever, said: "Everything was okay in the first part of the race.

"We had enough fuel to do a normal two-stop strategy, and it was a good feeling to be in front of the race.

"Then I was fighting with Rubens, while in the third stint I had a few problems with the car and was lucky to finish. It has been a fantastic weekend, but I am feeling ill now."

Wilson was taken to the medical centre. It is believed he is suffering from dehydration, caused by the HANS system working loose.