Van Gisbergen claims V8 hat-trick at F1 GP

Shane van Gisbergen has completed a hat-trick of wins at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix to claim overall honours of the non-championship V8 Supercars round.

The Holden driver took out the first two of four exhibition races at Melbourne's Albert Park on Friday and Saturday, before taking out a third in the final sprint on Sunday.

Fellow Kiwi Fabian Coulthard of DJR Team Penske finished second, ahead of Craig Lowndes in the TeamVortex Commodore in third.

Van Gisbergen's victory meant a cleansweep for his new team Red Bull Racing, with six-time champion and teammate Jamie Whincup winning race three.

Whincup's weekend came to a premature and disappointing end on Sunday after he was forced to pull over on lap three of 12 with a suspected mechanical failure.

Reigning champion Mark Winterbottom didn't have a great outing either at the F1 event, finishing 21st, 12th and 11th in the final two races.

The drivers next head to Tasmania for the second round of the championship from April 1.