Sunday's Australian Grand Prix was not the exciting event everybody was hoping for to start the 2004 season. Ferrari and Michael Schumacher dominanted the weekend from start to finish, not giving a chance to their rivals. Atlas F1's Pablo Elizalde reviews the events and results of the first Grand Prix of the year

There weren't many people who left Melbourne on Sunday without feeling somewhat fearful about the prospects of the 2004 season, even if the Australian Grand Prix was only the first race of a very long year.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said the result of Saturday's qualifying - with both Ferraris clearly in front - was a "disaster" for the sport and that it was not what he had expected. Apparently, even Ecclestone himself can be fooled by the misleading signs of pre-season testing.

The Briton did not make any comments following Sunday's race, but it was not too hard to imagine his mood after Michael Schumacher and Ferrari romped to a 2002-style victory that led to an anti-climatic and unexpected start to the season which could have hardly been more different than what the winter expectations had promised. Apparently, however, no one had told Ferrari or Schumacher about them.

As misleading as testing times have always been, few would have bet on Ferrari lapping a second per lap quicker than anyone else come the Albert Park race. The end of the 2003 season showed that the Italian team's rivals - and especially Williams - were very close, if not on par with them, and that Michelin had the upper hand over Bridgestone in the tyre war. With that in mind, it was not surprising to sense the fear of a repeat of 2002 in the paddock after the end of the race.

"I think Ferrari could probably have lapped everybody if they had wanted to. That is my assumption," said Mercedes' motorsports boss Norbert Haug before leaving Australia. "I hope 2002 is not coming back."

The truth is that the cooler weather conditions in the race played into the hands of Ferrari and their Bridgestone tyres. Or at least that is what is to be believed if the Japanese tyre manufacturer continue the trend set in 2003, when the Michelins fared better in hotter conditions. The bad news for his rivals was that with some 40 degrees on track on Friday and Saturday, Schumacher was also untouchable.

Some people in the paddock, playing down the unpopular start to the year, suggested the 2003 Grand Prix would have looked much like Sunday's race had Ferrari not failed to react properly to the rain. And yet 2003 turned out to be one of the most exciting seasons in recent Formula One history. It is way too early to say that 2004 is not going to be the same, but the Australian Grand Prix certainly did not offer much reason to hope, and not only because of Ferrari's dominance.

In Melbourne there were two new rules which were coming under close scrutiny and which did not seem to deliver the anticipated results. The much-talked-about one-engine rule - at least in its current form, with the teams spending millions to regain the lost performance - is not likely to save Formula One any money. What's worse, perhaps, is that it has made Friday a pointless day, with teams refusing to put unnecessary mileage on their engines.

To illustrate the point, it is worth mentioning that Schumacher topped the times on Friday's first practice after completing four laps. The teams who need more running are the teams who can't afford to plug in millions and millions into their engine's development programmes, so unless the powers that be manage to reduce what the top teams spend, the one-engine rule is only going to benefit the richer squads. It is no coincidence that Minardi are running a lower specification engine than Jordan and Jaguar when they had the latest unit available to them. For more money, of course.

The other novelty in this year's rulebook was the double-session qualifying, which proved to be disastrous, and not only in Ecclestone's eyes. There seemed to be a unanimous agreement from teams, media and fans over how utterly boring qualifying had been. The first session in particular was a non-event for the fans, with the drivers lapping slow enough to secure the chance of a good run in the second session.

The men doing the driving were not too thrilled either. Schumacher politely admitted the new qualifying format was "not interesting"; others, rightly, pointed out that it adds more confusion to the already convoluted weave that F1 regulations have become lately; and Minardi boss Paul Stoddart even raised a safety concern, with his cars likely to have to complete their two flying laps within three minutes of each other all season. There will certainly not be lack of suggestions on how to improve qualifying when the team bosses meet again.

It is inevitable to think that qualifying would have not received so much criticism had Sunday's race provided a good show. But as it turned out, Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello were untouchable, making a mockery of all the pre-season suggestions that their Michelin-shod rivals were the ones to beat. Schumacher's response was topping the times of every session and leading every lap of the race.

Winter testing is always deceiving, but if more than one of Ferrari's rivals admitted to being shocked by their pace was maybe not because of the results of the winter preparations but because of the change in momentum following the end of 2003.

Williams, the hot favourites before the start of the season, were never a match for Ferrari, and had he not slowed down at the end, chances are Schumacher would have ended up lapping both Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher. Whether the cooler conditions justify the second per lap that both Williams drivers were losing to their Ferrari rivals only time will tell.

Of those with high expectations ahead of the first race of the year, only Renault and BAR were close to living up to the hype, and in both cases with only one of their cars. Fernando Alonso's lonely drive demonstrated the Spaniard will be one of the men to watch this season, and that Renault's decision to switch back to a traditional engine layout was the right one. Apart from Schumacher and Barrichello, Alonso was the man of the race, driving cooly and flawlessly to his fifth F1 podium.

BAR Honda, with Jenson Button, showed their winter form was no fluke, being on par with the Williams during the whole weekend. The true test will be matching the top teams' development throughout the year, but their prospects had never looked so positive before.

The opposite could be said about the McLaren team, who left Australia with little to show for after their MP4-19 proved neither fast nor reliable: Kimi Raikkonen became the first retirement of 2004. Considering the Mercedes-powered machine has been testing since November and it should, in theory, be the most developed of the current crop of cars, McLaren's form in Australia was far from encouraging.

Qualifying

For the second consecutive season, Formula One saw the introduction of a new qualifying format aimed at spicing up the show and giving the fans more value for their money. If last year's format was received with mixed emotions, this year's new double-run layout was heavily criticised right from the start.

Some, like Schumacher, were more diplomatic in their comments. The Ferrari driver said the format was not interesting, a comment likely to be repeated in Malaysia when if, going out first in the opening session, he manages to set the fastest time. It will mean the German will have to wait for around 1.5 hours before going out to complete his second run.

Others, however, were not so mild and said the new system was a "disaster", "stupid", "dangerous", or the worst thing they had ever seen. At best it was utterly boring for the fans, who had to wait for over 80 minutes to see the battle for pole position. Obviously the end result did not help, as Schumacher and Barrichello were out of everyone else's reach, but still few would bet on the new format leading a long life.

The Grid

1. Michael Schumacher
First Qualifying: 1:25.301; Second Qualifying: 1:24.408

From the moment the F2004 completed its first lap around the Melbourne track, it was clear that the Ferrari/Bridgestone combination was the one to beat, and Schumacher made full use of the package to leave his rivals trailing in every session. The German showed he has no problems adapting to whatever qualifying format he has to face and, like he had done in 2003, clinched pole position, blasting around Albert Park faster than anyone had managed before.

2. Rubens Barrichello
First Qualifying: 1:25.992; Second Qualifying: 1:24.482

The Brazilian driver looked like the only man capable of posing a real threat to his teammate Schumacher in all of the practice and qualifying sessions. Like the German, Barrichello had a trouble-free three days and was on the pace right from the start of the Grand Prix weekend. He only missed on pole position by a mere seven hundredths of a second. As the winner of the Japanese Grand Prix last year he was the first driver to come out in first qualifying, and set the trend most would follow by driving as slowly as possible.

3. Juan Pablo Montoya
First Qualifying: 1:25.226 ; Second Qualifying: 1:24.998

Things looked terribly bad for Montoya and his Williams team on Friday, when they were unable to find the right balance for the new FW26 and were struggling badly for grip. That meant that the Colombian finished almost 1.5 seconds off Schumacher's pace, so there was a lot of work for him to be competitive on Saturday. The situation started to get better as qualifying approached and Montoya, feeling more comfortable with his car's handling, even topped the times with his first qualifying run. In the second, however, the Ferraris proved too quick for him, and a small error in the third sector did not help.

4. Jenson Button
First Qualifying: 1:25.898; Second Qualifying: 1:24.998

Everybody was following BAR closely in Melbourne following their impressive testing times during the winter. The big question was if the Honda-powered car had really made a big leap forward or were just trying to attract publicity with low fuel runs. It may still be too early to judge, but Button's qualifying form suggested the 006 is the best BAR the team have produced since their F1 debut. The Briton, who had to use the spare car for qualifying after damaging his car in practice, was always close to the also Michelin-shod Williams, as demonstrated by the time set in final qualifying, where he posted the exact same laptime as Montoya.

5. Fernando Alonso
First Qualifying: 1:25.928; Second Qualifying: 1:25.699

Together with BAR, Renault's true form ahead of the first race of the season was something of a mystery. The R24 had shone in pre-season testing, but with the French squad having made a U-turn in their engine philosophy there were still doubts of their real potential as they developed the new unit. However, first Jarno Trulli in practice and then Alonso in qualifying and in the race, proved the RS24 engine is a promising engine. Despite missing out on the second row, the Spanish star was confident of Renault's race pace, and as the race would show, justifiably.

6. Mark Webber
First Qualifying: 1:26.232; Second Qualifying: 1:25.805

Webber made it clear last year that he was especially quick in qualifying, so his sixth position came as no surprise to anyone. The local hero drove right on the limit of his car in qualifying and continued to prove his worth. The Jaguar R5 also showed well, and with the team confident they had managed to solve the R4's problem of eating up the tyres over a race distance, Webber's prospects were looking good.

7. Takuma Sato
First Qualifying: 1:26.737; Second Qualifying: 1:25.851

Seventh place was a good effort from the Japanese driver, even if he finished almost a whole second behind his BAR teammate Button. Like the Briton, Sato too had problems in Saturday's practice that cost him some valuable time ahead of qualifying. Having changed his car's set-up for the first qualifying session, the Japanese felt unhappy and reverted to his practice settings for the second run. Things were better after that, and following a clean flying lap Sato managed his best qualifying position up to date.

8. Ralf Schumacher
First Qualifying: 1:25.445; Second Qualifying: 1:25.925

The Williams driver's position was one of the biggest disappointments of the day, and not even Ralf himself managed to find an explanation for his lack of speed. Like his teammate Montoya, Ralf's weekend had started poorly on Friday only to get better on qualifying day. In his first run, the German was happy with his FW26 and finished two tenths behind Montoya. In the second, however, he was unable to find the speed and was almost a second slower than the Colombian.

9. Jarno Trulli
First Qualifying: 1:27.357; Second Qualifying: 1:26.290

A qualifying specialist, Trulli's performance was somewhat worse than expected after his impressive showing in Friday's practice. After setting the third fastest time on Friday and matching Alonso's pace in Saturday's sessions, the Italian, despite making no big mistakes during his flying laps, finished over half a second behind the Spaniard. Like Alonso, however, he was optimistic of Renault's stronger race pace.

10. Kimi Raikkonen
First Qualifying: 1:25.592; Second Qualifying: 1:26.297

Having set new records at some tracks and struggled in others, the true pace of the McLaren MP4-19 was a true mystery coming to the Australian Grand Prix. It did not take long, however, to see the Mercedes-powered car lacked pace to fight with its rivals, with Raikkonen not managing better than a seventh place in the four practice sessions. The Finn could not pinpoint anything wrong with his car, except for the fact that it was just not quick. Like in the past year, McLaren were hoping a different strategy, with more fuel onboard, would help them move forward in the race.

11. Felipe Massa
First Qualifying: 1:26.833; Second Qualifying: 1:27.065

After missing the 2003 season, the Brazilian faced the one-lap qualifying format for the first time in his career, and he had the dubious honor of being one of seven drivers who were faster in their first qualifying run. Despite that, Massa was pleased with his position, with his Sauber C23 not capable of much more at the moment. On a positive note, he managed to outqualify teammate Fisichella, something not many of the Italian's stable mates have managed in the past.

12. David Coulthard
First Qualifying: 1:25.652; Second Qualifying: 1:27.294

The Scot kicked off the first qualifying session of the year in the worst possible way: by reviving the problems he claimed he had put behind him last year. On his second flying lap, Coulthard pushed too hard at the exit of the final corner and went off, bouncing dangerously over the dirt runoff. Fortunately for him the error didn't cost him much time, although 12th position was by far not a promising result. During the rest of the weekend, Coulthard had been on par with Raikkonen, which was the best news for him as the McLaren was not fast enough to fight at the top.

13. Cristiano da Matta
First Qualifying: 1:28.274; Second Qualifying: 1:27.823

The Toyota team had a rather poor weekend, showing the TF104 is currently lacking the pace to match the Japanese outfit's target of fighting for the points in each race. Both da Matta and his teammate Panis struggled for grip since the start of the weekend, and things did not improve much in qualifying. The Brazilian was not happy with the balance of his car, which reflected on his time.

14. Giancarlo Fisichella
First Qualifying: 1:26.286; Second Qualifying: 1:27.845

Although a driving error relegated him down the order, realistically the Italian driver could have only fought for a place just outside the top ten with his Sauber. However, his final flying lap was far from clean, first going wide at the first corner and then making a few small mistakes due to lack of concentration. With overtaking proving so hard at Melbourne, the time lost was always going to be very damaging.

15. Nick Heidfeld
First Qualifying: 1:27.469; Second Qualifying: 1:28.178

Jordan arrived in Melbourne with a car with very few miles on it, and the lack of development was always going to be a heavy burden for the talented Heidfeld. Without many problems during the weekend, the German could concentrate on his job, but the lack of pace from the EJ14 seemed to suggest that, except for the odd occasion, the Silverstone-based team will be fighting at the back of the grid.

16. Giorgio Pantano
First Qualifying: 1:29.156; Second Qualifying: 1:30.140

The Italian rookie's Grand Prix debut was, at best, unspectacular. In a car that did not prove competitive, Pantano needed to at least be able to stay in touch with Heidfeld. He managed to do so in terms of positions, but the two-second gap to the German in final qualifying was not the most promising of starts. Like Heidfeld, Pantano went quicker in the first of his flying laps.

17. Zsolt Baumgartner
First Qualifying: 1:32.606; Second Qualifying: 1:30.681

Minardi had hardly tested their new car before flying to Melbourne. To makes matters worse, their test driver Leinders was unable to test on Friday after not being granted the Superlicence, so Baumgartner and Bruni had to work on their tyre selection at a track they had never visited. The Hungarian was always slower than his teammate and nearly lost his car during his first flying lap. He did better in the second, but would have probably finished at the bottom of the times had all the drivers completed their laps.

18. Olivier Panis
First Qualifying: 1:27.253; Second Qualifying: no time

Panis was, like da Matta, hindered all weekend by the overall lack of grip from the Toyota, although the Frenchman was happier than the Brazilian come Saturday. It was not going to last, however, as Panis would be one of three drivers who failed to set a time. His TF104 suffered electrical damage right before the start of his second flying lap with the car refusing to fire up, so Panis lost his chance.

19. Christian Klien
First Qualifying: 1:27.258; Second Qualifying: no time

Klien had an unfortunate start to his rookie year as Webber's teammate at Jaguar, a job from which no driver's F1 career has yet survived. The Austrian was never less than a second off Webber's pace in any session, and despite being his first year in Formula One, Jaguar will surely expect better from Klien. However, while he was about to begin his second qualifying run, he suffered a hydraulic failure that pushed him off the track and then forced him to abort his lap.

20. Gianmaria Bruni
First Qualifying: 1:30.912; Second Qualifying: no time

Like his teammate Baumgartner, Bruni's life was always going to be difficult at a track he was not familiar with, and with an underperforming car. To this credit it must be said that the Italian fared better than Baumgartner in every session, including first qualifying. However, as he was about to leave the pits to complete his second run, he suffered from a hydraulics failure and his Minardi refused to move, leaving him without a chance to escape the bottom of the grid.

The Race

Two factors came under the spotlight on race day: the first one was, as usual, the weather, which fortunately for the Bridgestone runners turned cooler due to the clouds covering Melbourne. The second important factor to consider was the absence of launch control, banned this season, and which had made the life of Formula One drivers much easier in recent times.

As if nothing had changed since 2003, however, when the red lights went off the Renaults flew off the line. Alonso's start was especially spectacular, the Spaniard - much quicker than Montoya in the getaway - making a gutsy move and overtaking the Colombian by putting two wheels of his car on the grass. Montoya took the inside line in the hope of keeping third place behind the leading Ferraris at the first corner, but the Williams driver left his braking too late and ran wide, not only losing his battle with Alonso, but dropping down to seventh place.

Michael Schumacher and Barrichello had a perfectly clean start and no troubles to keep the lead. Alonso followed, with Button in fourth, Trulli in fifth, and Ralf and Montoya behind him. Webber had dropped down to eighth, while the McLaren drivers were outside the points, with Coulthard in 10th and Raikkonen in 11th.

Montoya, trying to find his way back to the top of the field, tried to pass a slower Trulli during the opening laps, but without success. The frustrated Colombian, who had made slight contact with his teammate Ralf while fighting for position, could do nothing to get ahead of the Italian while the leading Ferraris began to take off.

After five laps, Schumacher led Barrichello by two seconds, while Alonso, the only man who was able to stay relatively in touch with the Ferraris, was already five seconds behind. Button had already lost contact with the Renault.

The Sauber drivers were the first ones to produce some action in the race. Giancarlo Fisichella became the first driver to pit on lap nine, while only moments later, Felipe Massa showed McLaren's lack of pace by overtaking Raikkonen with a clean move at the first corner.

The Finn's race, however, would last only a few more meters as, with his rear wheels blocked due to an engine failure, he spun out of the race to become the first retirement of the year and, what's worse, to be the first victim of an engine failure. Raikkonen was not amused after his dismal start to the season.

"We were not expecting to qualifying in 10th and it is very disappointing. We should not be in that position. We should be fighting at the front," said Raikkonen.

This year's increased pitlane speed favoured more pitstops, and the Australian Grand Prix become a three-stopper for most of the field. Montoya, still stuck behind Trulli, was the first of the top runners to pit, on lap 10, while Barrichello followed on the next lap. Button, Alonso, Schumacher, Trulli and Ralf pitted on the following two laps, with only Coulthard staying out longer as McLaren opted for a different strategy.

After the first round of pitstops was over, Schumacher was leading Barrichello by less than two seconds and Alonso by almost 10. Button was fourth, albeit more than 20 seconds behind, with Ralf some three seconds behind after having passed both Trulli and Montoya in the pits. The Colombian, meanwhile, was still stuck behind the Renault driver.

The Ferraris continued dominating the race with ease as the action-less laps passed by: only a 360-degree spin by Massa on lap 19 altered the processional event as Schumacher and Barrichello extended their lead over Alonso as the second round of pitstops approached.

Montoya finally managed to overtake Trulli on lap 24, the Williams driver immediately showing the Italian was slowing him down badly. Montoya began to lap almost two seconds faster and dived into the pits moments later, only to lose time due to a problem with his car's right rear wheel. Fortunately for him he was able to stay ahead of Trulli.

All the drivers on a three-stop strategy completed their pitstops without problems, and the order in front remained unchanged, with Schumacher opening the gap to Barrichello, who was having problems with the brakes of his Ferrari F2004. By lap 35, the Brazilian trailed Schumacher by over seven seconds, while a lonely Alonso was already over half a minute behind. Ralf was running fourth over a minute adrift of his brother, while Button was under pressure from Montoya.

The Colombian finally managed to overtake the BAR driver on lap 38, in a move that saw Button having to run off the track at turn 13 as he fought to keep Montoya at bay. Apart from that, the on-track action was non-existent: the Ferraris continued to open up their gap to Alonso while Montoya began to close in on Ralf before the final round of pitstops was kicked off on lap 40.

First Alonso, and then the rest of the frontrunners completed their third pitstops. Only Nick Heidfeld brought some drama to the race when he overshot his braking point in the pitlane and ran into two of his mechanics as a result of a problem with his car. Fortunately both escaped injury, but the problem forced Heidfeld to retire only a few meters after leaving the pitlane.

With 10 laps remaining, Schumacher had opened a 22-second gap to Barrichello, as the World Champion looked set to lap Montoya. That was not to be, however, and the Ferrari driver decided to slow down and cruise for the remaining part of the race. Even so, Schumacher finished over a minute ahead of the Williams drivers in a clear demonstration of superiority that even surprised the German.

"After the last test at Imola and knowing the characteristics of this track, I was sure we would be competitive but I did not expect such a performance," said Schumacher, who finished ahead of Barrichello to give Ferrari their first one-two finish since Japan 2002.

Alonso completed the podium, while the Williams drivers had to settle for fourth and fifth, Ralf ahead of Montoya. Button kicked off his season with a promising sixth place ahead of Trulli. Coulthard took the final point, which was little consolation for the McLaren team after having finished over a lap behind Schumacher and his Ferrari.

The World Champion, however, was quick to play down his dominance.

"I am keeping my feet on the ground, because this race and the weather conditions suited us perhaps better than the others," he said. "We will have to wait and see what happens in Malaysia where it will be much hotter. I do not want to predict the season based on just one race."

Race Results

 1.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)  1h 24:15.757
 2.  Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)  +     13.605
 3.  Alonso        Renault          (M)  +     34.673
 4.  R.Schumacher  Williams-BMW     (M)  +   1:00.423
 5.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)  +   1:08.536
 6.  Button        BAR-Honda        (M)  +   1:10.598
 7.  Trulli        Renault          (M)  1  lap      
 8.  Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  1  lap      
 9.  Sato          BAR-Honda        (M)  1  lap      
10.  Fisichella    Sauber-Petronas  (B)  1  lap      
11.  Klien         Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  2  laps     
12.  da Matta      Toyota           (M)  2  laps     
13.  Panis         Toyota           (M)  2  laps     
14.  Pantano       Jordan-Ford      (B)  3  laps     
 
Fastest Lap: M.Schumacher, 1:24.125, lap 29

Not Classified/Retirements:

Driver        Team                   On Lap
Massa         Sauber-Petronas  (B)    45
Heidfeld      Jordan-Ford      (B)    44
Bruni         Minardi-Cosworth (B)    44
Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)    30
Baumgartner   Minardi-Cosworth (B)    14
Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes (M)    10


World Championship Standing, Round 1:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  M.Schumacher  10        1.  Ferrari           18
 2.  Barrichello    8        2.  Williams-BMW       9
 3.  Alonso         6        3.  Renault            8
 4.  R.Schumacher   5        4.  BAR-Honda          3
 5.  Montoya        4        5   McLaren-Mercedes   1
 6.  Button         3        
 7.  Trulli         2        
 8.  Coulthard      1  

Pos  Driver        Team                  Lap  Time              
 1.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)  29   1:24.125 + 
 2.  Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)  8    1:24.179 + 0.054
 3.  Alonso        Renault          (M)  10   1:25.088 + 0.963
 4.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)  42   1:25.286 + 1.161
 5.  R.Schumacher  Williams-BMW     (M)  11   1:25.824 + 1.699
 6.  Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  15   1:25.952 + 1.827
 7.  Button        BAR-Honda        (M)  24   1:25.982 + 1.857
 8.  Sato          BAR-Honda        (M)  43   1:26.077 + 1.952
 9.  Trulli        Renault          (M)  9    1:26.275 + 2.150
10.  Fisichella    Sauber-Petronas  (B)  39   1:26.282 + 2.157
11.  Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  13   1:26.328 + 2.203
12.  Massa         Sauber-Petronas  (B)  11   1:26.846 + 2.721
13.  Heidfeld      Jordan-Ford      (B)  27   1:27.503 + 3.378
14.  Panis         Toyota           (M)  35   1:27.807 + 3.682
15.  da Matta      Toyota           (M)  41   1:27.820 + 3.695
16.  Klien         Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  6    1:27.840 + 3.715
17.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  7    1:27.936 + 3.811
18.  Pantano       Jordan-Ford      (B)  15   1:28.523 + 4.398
19.  Bruni         Minardi-Cosworth (B)  10   1:30.161 + 6.036
20.  Baumgartner   Minardi-Cosworth (B)  8    1:30.621 + 6.496

Pos  Driver        Team                  Time      Lap
 1.  Alonso        Renault          (M)     20.294  11
 2.  Trulli        Renault          (M)     20.426  41
 3.  R.Schumacher  Williams-BMW     (M)     20.509  12
 4.  Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)     20.889  29
 5.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)     20.919  30
 6.  Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)     20.958  44
 7.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)     21.321  45
 8.  Sato          BAR-Honda        (M)     21.338  45
 9.  Fisichella    Sauber-Petronas  (B)     21.342  44
10.  da Matta      Toyota           (M)     21.459  24
11.  Heidfeld      Jordan-Ford      (B)     21.477  28
12.  Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)     21.548  27
13.  R.Schumacher  Williams-BMW     (M)     21.729  45
14.  Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)     21.737  11
15.  Heidfeld      Jordan-Ford      (B)     21.737  14
16.  Sato          BAR-Honda        (M)     21.746  12
17.  Button        BAR-Honda        (M)     21.787  11
18.  da Matta      Toyota           (M)     21.959  42
19.  Alonso        Renault          (M)     21.994  24
20.  R.Schumacher  Williams-BMW     (M)     22.061  28
21.  Fisichella    Sauber-Petronas  (B)     22.079  28
22.  Fisichella    Sauber-Petronas  (B)     22.147   8
23.  Alonso        Renault          (M)     22.194  40
24.  Button        BAR-Honda        (M)     22.224  42
25.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)     22.595  26
26.  Trulli        Renault          (M)     22.598  12
27.  Trulli        Renault          (M)     22.799  28
28.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)     22.930  12
29.  Panis         Toyota           (M)     22.972  37
30.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)     23.044  10
31.  Panis         Toyota           (M)     23.099  14
32.  Pantano       Jordan-Ford      (B)     23.213  18
33.  Button        BAR-Honda        (M)     23.459  26
34.  Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes (M)     23.562  36
35.  Bruni         Minardi-Cosworth (B)     23.909  11
36.  Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)     23.993  13
37.  Massa         Sauber-Petronas  (B)     24.053  36
38.  Massa         Sauber-Petronas  (B)     24.060  14
39.  Pantano       Jordan-Ford      (B)     24.199  37
40.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)     24.331  44
41.  Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes (M)     24.708  14
42.  Bruni         Minardi-Cosworth (B)     25.646  25
43.  Sato          BAR-Honda        (M)     26.120  27
44.  Klien         Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)     26.732  37
45.  Klien         Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)     28.144  16
46.  da Matta      Toyota           (M)     34.030  12
47.  Baumgartner   Minardi-Cosworth (B)   1:09.349  11
48.  Heidfeld      Jordan-Ford      (B)   1:19.542  43
49.  Bruni         Minardi-Cosworth (B)  17:36.035  35

Lap 58: Michael Schumacher wins his 71st Grand Prix victory – his fourth Australian GP victory – with Rubens Barrichello second and Fernando Alonso third. The remaining points go to Ralf Schumacher (4th), Juan Pablo Montoya (5th), Jenson Button (6th), Jarno Trulli (7th) and David Coulthard (8th). Takuma Sato is 9th and Giancarlo Fisichella 10th. Top rookie is Christian Klien in 11th place.

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