Race Results - after 58 laps

1. Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) 1hr 34mins 01.987secs
2. Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) 1hr 34mins 13.402secs
3. Ralf Schumacher (Williams BMW) 1hr 34mins 21.996secs
4. Jacques Villeneuve (BAR Honda) 1hr 34mins 46.434secs
5. Giancarlo Fisichella (Benetton Playlife) 1hr 34mins 47.152secs
6. Riccardo Zonta (BAR Honda) 1hr 34mins 48.455secs
7. Alexander Wurz (Benetton Playlife) 1hr 34mins 48.902secs
8. Marc Gene (Minardi Fondmetal) 57 laps
9. Nick Heidfeld (Prost Peugeot) 56 laps

Fastest Lap: Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) 1min 31.481secs on lap 41

Drivers' World Championship

1. Schumacher M. 10 points
2. Barrichello 6
3. Schumacher R. 4
4. Villeneuve 3
5. Fisichella 2
6. Zonta 1.

1. Ferrari 16 points
2. Williams BMW and BAR Honda 4
3. Benetton Playlife 2

The first race of the 2000 Formula One season started off where the last race of the 1999 season left off with a battle between McLaren and Ferrari. This time McLaren won the qualifying battle with Mika Hakkinen on pole and David Coulthard alongside him on the front row of the grid, but Ferrari won the race battle with a resounding one-two for Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.

The Arrows F1 Team has left Australia with two retirements but a lot of hope for the future, as while Pedro de la Rosa and Jos Verstappen were in the race they were very competitive, and in the final results Jos set the fastest time through the race speed trap. From 12th and 13th on the grid respectively Pedro and Jos made good starts, with Jos overtaking three cars on the first lap to cross the start finish line 10th. As the race progressed both drivers were passing cars, but on lap seven they encountered identical front suspension problems. Pedro retired in a most spectacular accident and Jos come into the pits after what he described as a 'scary moment due to a problem with the front steering arm'. Although Jos did go out again after repairs, he was eventually called in by the team for safety reasons once Pedro had confirmed the reason for his crash.

While this was happening Hakkinen was leading from Coulthard, with Schumacher's Ferrari third and the Jordan of Heinz Harald Frentzen fourth. It was not to stay that way for long as first Coulthard and then Hakkinen retired with a problem on the engine's pneumatic valve system, and eventually Frentzen and his team-mate, Jarno Trulli also retired. For Frentzen it was a hydraulic leak and Trulli had a broken exhaust pipe.

With the retirement of several leading cars Jenson Button, in his first ever race, found his Williams in sixth place after starting 21st. However, his BMW engine stopped on lap 47. Even though this was a disappointment for the English fans, the team was obviously delighted with Ralf Schumacher's third place, which put him on the podium with his brother.

Jaguar had a far from good weekend for their first Formula One race with both cars retiring. Johnny Herbert's bad weekend just got worse when from 20th on the grid his car cruised to a halt on lap one with clutch failure. For Eddie Irvine it was a spin on lap seven to avoid Pedro's spinning Arrows.

Apart from Ferrari, both BAR and Benetton managed to get two cars to the finish. It was particularly satisfying for BAR as the team failed to score a single point in its first year and this time Jacques Villeneuve finished fourth with the top six being completed by the Benetton of Giancarlo Fisichella and the BAR Honda of Riccardo Zonta. Originally Mika Salo's Sauber was sixth but he was excluded from the results after it was found that the front wing was illegal.

The only 'rookey' to finish was Nick Heidfeld with his Prost two laps down in ninth. For the third newcomer, Gaston Mazzacane, it was a gearbox problem on lap 41 that sidelined his Minardi.

The teams are now having a few well earned days off before heading to Brazil at the end of the week for the second race there on the 26th March.

For the Arrows F1 Team Brazil can only be quieter as on the eve of the Melbourne race it launched the new livery for the season. The car with is orange and black livery has attracted much attention and the comments so far are only positive. The team was able to welcome Orange, Eurobet, Chello and Lost Boys to Formula One, European Aviation to Arrows and also renew its association with Repsol YPF, Bridgestone, Baan, Catia and Sgi. Although Melbourne is always a place where a warm welcome is assured, it was warmer for the team this year as local driver, Mark Webber, was confirmed as an Arrows F1 Team test driver along with his role as lead driver for the European Arrows F3000 Team.