For the season Hamilton drove alongside Jenson Button, who joined McLaren after Heikki Kovalainen's departure to Lotus Racing. Hamilton finished third at the season opener in Bahrain and finished in sixth place at the next race in Australia after a late-race collision with Mark Webber. Hamilton started from twentieth place on the grid in Malaysia after a poor tyre choice by McLaren left him out on dry tyres in wet conditions. He recovered to finish sixth. Hamilton achieved a second-place finish in China behind Button, completing McLaren's first 1–2 finish since the 2007 Italian Grand Prix. In Monaco Hamilton qualified and finished fifth. Hamilton's fortunes improved in the , where he claimed his first victory of the season as he and Button completed a 1–2.