Well, Fernando winning wasn't that much of a surprise; it was the fact the race was worth watching that was a turn up for the books. Schumacher's Ferrari found the pace (that has been thus far lacking) to provide an enthralling spectacle as he chased the young Spaniard down from 14th on the grid. Unfortunately F1's major weakness reared its head when, even though his car was a full two seconds a lap quicker than the Renault, the 'dirty' air produced by Alonso's car prevented Michael from getting close enough to make a lunge for glory. Still, that's the first time since the '90s that I've actually been gripped by an F1 race!

Alonso extended his lead in the championship, but the sheer pace of the Ferrari will cause a few sleepless nights on the F1 grid. It's a long uphill struggle for Schumacher from here, but this year's extended calendar may just play into the hands of the red baron; the monumental amount of engineering and test work that the seemingly endless Ferrari budget allows will no doubt help. At least it isn't going to be a one prancing horse race this year.

Dave Jenkins - 2 May 2005