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

The build-up to the first race of the 2000 season was immense. McLaren were quiet, Ferrari were confident. Eddie Jordan stated that he was aiming for at least third place this year, repeating their success last year. A bold statement when Honda are providing works engines to the BAR team. However, based on BAR's 1999 debacle, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jarno Trulli should have it easy.

That is how it appeared with qualifying. McLaren may have clinched the front row, but that is only telling half the story. Hakkinen and Coulthard openly admitted that the Ferraris of Schumacher and Barrichello were not far behind, and that there is little, if any speed disparity. "Look at the grid" said Mika in an off-the-cuff comment, but he quickly withdrew that comment and said that it would be a tough race. Unfortunately for McLaren, it never reached that stage.

Ferrari held the second row of the grid. Barrichello proved that he was capable of keeping close to Michael Schumacher's time. He was capable of a faster time (as was Michael), but conditions did not allow it, and both Ferrari drivers made small errors on potentially their fastest qualifying laps. The (brighter) yellow Jordans lined up next, easily quicker than the rest of the field, and not a million miles away from pole position. Trulli applied himself well, but Frentzen is still the quicker driver. It must help to be the fastest man recorded at Melbourne to date (see the Jaguar graphic on the left).

As the five red lights went off, the accelerators went on. McLaren pulled off a faultless start. Schumacher got away well, but wasted his start by forcing Barrichello behind. This allowed Frentzen (very quick starting) to slip past the Brazilian going into the first corner. Did Michael and Rubens have an agreement about the first corner, or was Michael showing Barrichello who's boss?

The field streamed through without many incidents. Jenson Button showed his maturity by hanging back from the chaos until the other drivers had settled down - then he overtook 5 cars in the first lap! Agreed, his BMW-Williams should be significantly faster than the other cars starting at the rear of the field (he was unfortunate in qualifying), but this was the first grand prix for the twenty year old. He impressed us, and I'm sure Frank Williams will be happy with his performance, as he overtook confidently and even performed a perfect pit-stop before his engine gave up the ghost. Expect big things from the youngster - Gerhard Berger recommended him, and that is not a common thing.

Engine failure was rife in Melbourne, as it often is! The combination of the high temperatures and the fact that this is the first race of the season ensure that there is always a high rate of attrition here. Both McLarens retired with the same failure they experienced in practice - having announced that the problem was solved. This put Mika and David out of a McLaren 1-2 lead. Schumacher was not far behind them though, and had even clinched a few fastest lap times, proving that the Ferraris may well be the equal of the McLaren MP4/15 this year. They certainly live up to Ferrari's reputation for reliability, romping home to an easy 1-2 once the McLarens and Jordans retired.

That's right, the Jordans didn't finish. This was a rare occurrence in 1999. From memory, Frentzen's car failed twice in 1999 - both times while leading. Trulli's car was the first to go, with a broken exhaust. Frentzen's engine gave up after an extended pit-stop. A shame really, as he was on course for the second place on the podium. Rubens Barrichello inherited this. Ralf Schumacher drove his usual steady race to clinch third place - a fantastic result for the new BMW-Williams car.

Contrary to expectations, the BAR-Hondas did what they set out to do - and more. Jacques Villeneuve declared that they have been working on reliability as a priority. It paid off in Australia, with both cars finishing in the points (after Mika Salo was disqualified because of over-sized barge-boards). I bet Craig Pollack and co. were breathing a sigh of relief having scored well for the first time. Now, Honda need to work on the speed of the cars.

Only nine cars finished this year. Both Jaguars retired early on - both were caused by periphery accidents. The new-look Arrows retired due to broken front suspension.

The next race is in Sao Paulo, Brazil. As long as McLaren fix their engine problem then we should have a very close race. Rubens Barrichello is Ferrari's ace however - he has a lot of experience here on his home track, as he showed last year in the Stewart-Ford. March 26th is the date. See you then.

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