2006 Australian Grand Prix - Race 3/18

rpstewart · 2 Apr 2006 at 07:42

Dennis wants limit on 12 teams scrapped
McLaren boss Ron Dennis believes the Formula One World Championship should be open to as many teams as possible, with a pre-qualifying system in place to limit the number of race entries.

The sport's governing body, the FIA, said 22 teams have applied for an enter the 2008 Formula One World Championship. These include all 11 current F1 teams.

The FIA regulations currently limit the number of teams in the championship to 12, which is likely to mean that only one of the new teams will be invited to join the championship.

However, the reality is that nothing can be taken for granted with the situation because the FIA has the final decision on exactly who gets an entry - and none of the current 11 outfits on the grid are guaranteed a slot.

Article 45 of the 2008 Sporting Regulations states: "All applications will be studied by the FIA and accepted or rejected in its absolute discretion."

Dennis, however, suggested at Albert Park that no team should have their entry refused, and that the championship should be opened up to everyone.

"I think all we need is a consistency and a level-playing field, and it doesn't really matter how that unfolds, especially in 2008, as long as it unfolds the same for everybody," he said.

"There is obviously a large entry into the 2008 championship, and everybody is already scratching their heads - are there already 22 teams who are going to go into that world championship? If there are, and whatever the criteria is, then we should all turn up and pre-qualify.

"If there are people who really think that they have got what it takes to be in F1 then I am completely happy, so let them come and pre-qualify against us, and just see how many of them take the pain of struggling through half the season, maybe more, of going home after Friday. This is F1."

He's quite right, if the financial package is sorted correctly there's nothing wrong with teams having to pre-qualify. If the 2008 rules pan out the way they're rumoured then it should be easy to buy a reasonably competitive car so why not? It's worked before when customer chassis were allowed but then again the big teams won't want to take the risk of missing the cut.

Flibster · 2 Apr 2006 at 07:42

2006 Australian Grand Prix

All results subject to conformation

Race Results.

Code:

[b]Pos	No	Driver			Team			Laps	Time		Grid	Points[/b]
1	1	Fernando Alonso		Renault			57	Winner		3	10	
2	3	Kimi Räikkönen		McLaren-Mercedes	57	+1.8 secs	4	8	
3	7	Ralf Schumacher		Toyota			57	+24.8 secs	6	6	
4	16	Nick Heidfeld		Sauber-BMW		57	+31.0 secs	8	5	
5	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault			57	+38.4 secs	2	4	
6	17	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber-BMW		57	+49.5 secs	19	3	
7	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda			57	+51.9 secs	16	2	
8	21	Scott Speed		STR-Cosworth		57	+53.8 secs	18	1	
9	14	David Coulthard		RBR-Ferrari		57	+53.9 secs	11		
10	12	Jenson Button		Honda			56	+1 Lap		1		
11	19	Christijan Albers	MF1-Toyota		56	+1 Lap		17		
12	22	Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda	55	+2 Lap		21		
13	23	Yuji Ide		Super Aguri-Honda	54	+3 Lap		22		
Ret	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	46	+11 Lap		5		
Ret	18	Tiago Monteiro		MF1-Toyota		39	+18 Lap		20		
Ret	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR-Cosworth		37	+20 Laps	12		
Ret	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari			32	+25 Laps	10		
Ret	9	Mark Webber		Williams-Cosworth	22	+35 Laps	7		
Ret	15	Christian Klien		RBR-Ferrari		4	+53 Laps	13		
Ret	8	Jarno Trulli		Toyota				+57 Laps	9		
Ret	10	Nico Rosberg		Williams-Cosworth		+57 Laps	14		
Ret	6	Felipe Massa		Ferrari				+57 Laps	15		

Fastest Lap:

Fastest Laps.

Code:

[b]Pos	No	Driver			Team			Lap	Time		Speed	Laptime[/b]
1	3	Kimi Räikkönen		McLaren-Mercedes	57	15:41:22	221.869	1:26.045	
2	1	Fernando Alonso		Renault			49	15:29:38	221.499	1:26.189	
3	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari			27	14:52:08	218.981	1:27.180	
4	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	45	15:24:02	218.270	1:27.464	
5	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault			53	15:36:01	218.028	1:27.561	
6	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda			32	15:00:16	217.707	1:27.690	
7	16	Nick Heidfeld		Sauber-BMW		49	15:30:05	217.683	1:27.700	
8	12	Jenson Button		Honda			17	14:36:45	217.437	1:27.799	
9	9	Mark Webber		Williams-Cosworth	19	14:39:44	217.435	1:27.800	
10	7	Ralf Schumacher		Toyota			45	15:24:00	217.410	1:27.810	
11	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR-Cosworth		25	14:49:16	216.970	1:27.988	
12	14	David Coulthard		Red Bull Racing		32	15:00:18	216.326	1:28.250	
13	17	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber-BMW		56	15:40:40	216.152	1:28.321	
14	21	Scott Speed		STR-Cosworth		26	14:51:01	216.039	1:28.367	
15	19	Christijan Albers	MF1-Toyota		53	15:37:57	213.931	1:29.238	
16	18	Tiago Monteiro		MF1-Toyota		31	14:58:41	212.860	1:29.687	
17	22	Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda	54	15:40:27	210.775	1:30.574	
18	23	Yuji Ide		Super Aguri-Honda	49	15:34:21	203.663	1:33.737	
19	15	Christian Klien		Red Bull Racing		4	14:15:38	188.363	1:41.351

Pit Stops

Code:

[b]Stop	No	Driver			Time			Lap	Time of day	Time	Total time[/b]
1	18	Tiago Monteiro		MF1-Toyota		8	14:22:37	22.093	22.093	
1	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	18	14:38:12	22.924	22.924	
1	12	Jenson Button		Honda			19	14:39:43	21.287	21.287	
1	7	Ralf Schumacher		Toyota			19	14:39:45	20.878	20.878	
1	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault			19	14:40:03	23.327	23.327	
1	1	Fernando Alonso		Renault			20	14:40:52	23.013	23.013	
1	3	Kimi Räikkönen		McLaren-Mercedes	21	14:42:30	23.199	23.199	
1	23	Yuji Ide		Super Aguri-Honda	20	14:42:45	23.592	23.592	
1	19	Christijan Albers	MF1-Toyota		22	14:45:03	22.226	22.226	
1	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR-Cosworth		23	14:45:53	22.449	22.449	
2	7	Ralf Schumacher		Toyota			23	14:46:03	10.164	31.042	
1	22	Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda	23	14:46:33	22.059	22.059	
1	21	Scott Speed		STR-Cosworth		24	14:47:37	22.871	22.871	
2	23	Yuji Ide		Super Aguri-Honda	23	14:48:07	22.445	46.037	
1	16	Nick Heidfeld		Sauber-BMW		25	14:48:37	20.800	20.800	
1	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari			25	14:48:49	21.260	21.260	
1	14	David Coulthard		Red Bull Racing		29	14:55:29	20.525	20.525	
1	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda			30	14:56:57	19.667	19.667	
1	17	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber-BMW		33	15:01:04	22.901	22.901	
2	21	Scott Speed		STR-Cosworth		33	15:01:25	40.915	1:03.786	
2	18	Tiago Monteiro		MF1-Toyota		33	15:01:40	37.932	1:00.025	
2	1	Fernando Alonso		Renault			34	15:01:49	20.934	43.947	
2	19	Christijan Albers	MF1-Toyota		33	15:02:05	30.698	52.924	
2	3	Kimi Räikkönen		McLaren-Mercedes	34	15:02:13	29.926	53.125	
2	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	34	15:02:21	36.160	59.084	
2	16	Nick Heidfeld		Sauber-BMW		34	15:02:22	20.160	40.960	
2	22	Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda	33	15:02:25	22.983	45.042	
2	12	Jenson Button		Honda			34	15:02:27	21.479	42.766	
3	7	Ralf Schumacher		Toyota			34	15:02:35	20.822	51.864	
2	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR-Cosworth		34	15:02:40	22.848	45.297	
2	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault			34	15:02:41	19.612	42.939	
3	23	Yuji Ide		Super Aguri-Honda	33	15:05:02	40.486	1:26.523	
2	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda			38	15:11:43	20.396	40.063	
2	14	David Coulthard		Red Bull Racing		38	15:11:44	19.899	40.424	
3	22	Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda	47	15:29:20	19.486	1:04.528

Flibster · 2 Apr 2006 at 07:48

Current Standings

2006 Drivers Championship.

Code:

[b]Pos	Driver			Nationality	Team			Points[/b]
1	Fernando Alonso		Spanish		Renault			28	
=3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian		Renault			14	
=3	Kimi Räikkönen		Finnish		McLaren-Mercedes	14	
=5	Michael Schumacher	German		Ferrari			11	
=5	Jenson Button		British		Honda			11	
6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Colombian	McLaren-Mercedes	9	
7	Ralf Schumacher		German		Toyota			7	
=9	Nick Heidfeld		German		Sauber-BMW		5	
=9	Jacques Villeneuve	Canadian	Sauber-BMW		5	
10	Felipe Massa		Brazilian	Ferrari			4	
11	Mark Webber		Australian	Williams-Cosworth	3	
=13	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Honda			2	
=13	Nico Rosberg		German		Williams-Cosworth	2	
=15	Scott Speed		USA		STR-Cosworth		1	
=15	Christian Klien		Austrian	RBR-Ferrari		1

2006 Constructors Championship.

Code:

[b]Pos	Constructor 		Points[/b]
1 	Renault 		42 	
2 	McLaren-Mercedes 	23 	
3 	Ferrari 		15 	
4 	Honda 			13 	
5 	Sauber-BMW 		10 	
6 	Toyota 			7 	
7 	Williams-Cosworth 	5 	
=9 	RBR-Ferrari 		1 	
=9 	STR-Cosworth 		1

Duke · 2 Apr 2006 at 08:46

Great race that. Very entertaining (except Button at the end

)

Creature · 2 Apr 2006 at 08:56

Aye it was, have to get parents to record the re-run so I can watch it again when I get back home.

Duke · 2 Apr 2006 at 11:11

Pitpass.com said:
Official: Double whammy penalty for Speed

Toro Rosso driver Scott Speed has been hit with a double-whammy penalty following today's Australian Grand Prix.

The American was given a reprimand and time penalty of 25 seconds, to be added to his race time, for ignored waved yellow flags.

However, according to the race stewards: "A further penalty is also imposed on the driver for using abusive language to another competitor during the stewards' hearing. This conduct being wholly unacceptable. The driver is fined the sum of US$5000. The competitor is reminded of his right of appeal."

It is thought that 'the other competitor' is David Coulthard as it was he who was overtaken.

Coulthard gets the last laugh however, as, due to the time penalty, Speed drops below the Scot who consequently scores a point for eighth.

Super Aguri's Takuma Sato was given a reprimand for ignoring blue flags.

rpstewart · 2 Apr 2006 at 11:28

Australia to open 2007 season
The Australian Grand Prix will resume its place as the first event of the Formula One calendar in 2007, organisers reiterated on Sunday.

"It will revert to the first race in the future," Victoria state Premier Steve Bracks told reporters at the Albert Park circuit, confirming what autosport.com revealed earlier in the week.

The race moved from its traditional place as season-opener to third this year to accommodate the Commonwealth Games that were held in Melbourne from March 15-26. The first two races were staged in Bahrain and Malaysia.

Bracks said Melbourne's right to stage the first race of the year had been 'embedded' in the circuit's contract with F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone.

"I was there with (race organiser) Ron Walker when the contract was renegotiated for 2010 with an option for a further five years after that and one of the conditions was that it was the first race on the F1 calendar of the year."

Walker said the event attracted a total of 301,800 spectators over its four days, including 103,000 for Sunday's race, down from 118,200 last year.

Looks like your party's back on Flibster!

Byron5184 · 2 Apr 2006 at 11:44

That was an awesome race, how unlucky was Button.

Cant wait for Imola and the start of the European season.

I like the suggestion above where all 22 applied teams show up to a race and pre-qualify on the friday, top 12 teams stay and go into practice, the other 10 go home.

Flibster · 2 Apr 2006 at 13:02

Angry Liuzzi critical of Villeneuve

Toro Rosso's Vitantonio Liuzzi was critical of rival Jacques Villeneuve after the Italian claimed the Canadian had caused him to crash during the Australian Grand Prix.

Liuzzi crashed heavily following one of the restarts on lap 38, and the Toro Rosso driver claimed Villeneuve had pushed him into the wall. Liuzzi's accident caused the Safety Car to come out for the fourth time.

"When the accident happened I was close to Villeneuve, at the restart just behind him," said Liuzzi. "He locked up and we went side-by-side at the exit and he just pushed me straight into the wall.

"I guess you get used to this sort of thing from Jacques because he has done it plenty of times before. It was a pretty high speed accident."

Villeneuve, who finished the race in sixth place, was under investigation following the incident, but the stewards said there was not enough evidence to penalise the Canadian.

"The Stewards after hearing the explanation of both drivers and seen video recordings of the incident find that such evidence as is available to them is insufficient to enable them to determine that it is appropriate to impose a penalty and accordingly determine that the incident requires no further action," the stewards said.

Flibster · 2 Apr 2006 at 13:04

2006 Australian Grand Prix Revised results

Race Results.

Code:

[b]Pos	No	Driver			Team			Laps	Time		Grid	Points[/b]
1	1	Fernando Alonso		Renault			57	Winner		3	10	
2	3	Kimi Räikkönen		McLaren-Mercedes	57	+1.8 secs	4	8	
3	7	Ralf Schumacher		Toyota			57	+24.8 secs	6	6	
4	16	Nick Heidfeld		Sauber-BMW		57	+31.0 secs	8	5	
5	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault			57	+38.4 secs	2	4	
6	17	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber-BMW		57	+49.5 secs	19	3	
7	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda			57	+51.9 secs	16	2	
8	14	David Coulthard		RBR-Ferrari		57	+53.9 secs	11	1	
9	12	Jenson Button		Honda			56	+1 Lap		1		
10	19	Christijan Albers	MF1-Toyota		56	+1 Lap		17		
11	21	Scott Speed		STR-Cosworth		57	+78.8 secs	18		*25 second penalty*
12	22	Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda	55	+2 Lap		21		
13	23	Yuji Ide		Super Aguri-Honda	54	+3 Lap		22		
Ret	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	46	+11 Lap		5		
Ret	18	Tiago Monteiro		MF1-Toyota		39	+18 Lap		20		
Ret	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR-Cosworth		37	+20 Laps	12		
Ret	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari			32	+25 Laps	10		
Ret	9	Mark Webber		Williams-Cosworth	22	+35 Laps	7		
Ret	15	Christian Klien		RBR-Ferrari		4	+53 Laps	13		
Ret	8	Jarno Trulli		Toyota				+57 Laps	9		
Ret	10	Nico Rosberg		Williams-Cosworth		+57 Laps	14		
Ret	6	Felipe Massa		Ferrari				+57 Laps	15

Fastest Laps.

Code:

[b]Pos	No	Driver			Team			Lap	Time		Speed	Laptime[/b]
1	3	Kimi Räikkönen		McLaren-Mercedes	57	15:41:22	221.869	1:26.045	
2	1	Fernando Alonso		Renault			49	15:29:38	221.499	1:26.189	
3	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari			27	14:52:08	218.981	1:27.180	
4	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	45	15:24:02	218.270	1:27.464	
5	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault			53	15:36:01	218.028	1:27.561	
6	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda			32	15:00:16	217.707	1:27.690	
7	16	Nick Heidfeld		Sauber-BMW		49	15:30:05	217.683	1:27.700	
8	12	Jenson Button		Honda			17	14:36:45	217.437	1:27.799	
9	9	Mark Webber		Williams-Cosworth	19	14:39:44	217.435	1:27.800	
10	7	Ralf Schumacher		Toyota			45	15:24:00	217.410	1:27.810	
11	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR-Cosworth		25	14:49:16	216.970	1:27.988	
12	14	David Coulthard		Red Bull Racing		32	15:00:18	216.326	1:28.250	
13	17	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber-BMW		56	15:40:40	216.152	1:28.321	
14	21	Scott Speed		STR-Cosworth		26	14:51:01	216.039	1:28.367	
15	19	Christijan Albers	MF1-Toyota		53	15:37:57	213.931	1:29.238	
16	18	Tiago Monteiro		MF1-Toyota		31	14:58:41	212.860	1:29.687	
17	22	Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda	54	15:40:27	210.775	1:30.574	
18	23	Yuji Ide		Super Aguri-Honda	49	15:34:21	203.663	1:33.737	
19	15	Christian Klien		Red Bull Racing		4	14:15:38	188.363	1:41.351

Pit Stops

Code:

[b]Stop	No	Driver			Time			Lap	Time of day	Time	Total time[/b]
1	18	Tiago Monteiro		MF1-Toyota		8	14:22:37	22.093	22.093	
1	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	18	14:38:12	22.924	22.924	
1	12	Jenson Button		Honda			19	14:39:43	21.287	21.287	
1	7	Ralf Schumacher		Toyota			19	14:39:45	20.878	20.878	
1	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault			19	14:40:03	23.327	23.327	
1	1	Fernando Alonso		Renault			20	14:40:52	23.013	23.013	
1	3	Kimi Räikkönen		McLaren-Mercedes	21	14:42:30	23.199	23.199	
1	23	Yuji Ide		Super Aguri-Honda	20	14:42:45	23.592	23.592	
1	19	Christijan Albers	MF1-Toyota		22	14:45:03	22.226	22.226	
1	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR-Cosworth		23	14:45:53	22.449	22.449	
2	7	Ralf Schumacher		Toyota			23	14:46:03	10.164	31.042	
1	22	Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda	23	14:46:33	22.059	22.059	
1	21	Scott Speed		STR-Cosworth		24	14:47:37	22.871	22.871	
2	23	Yuji Ide		Super Aguri-Honda	23	14:48:07	22.445	46.037	
1	16	Nick Heidfeld		Sauber-BMW		25	14:48:37	20.800	20.800	
1	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari			25	14:48:49	21.260	21.260	
1	14	David Coulthard		Red Bull Racing		29	14:55:29	20.525	20.525	
1	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda			30	14:56:57	19.667	19.667	
1	17	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber-BMW		33	15:01:04	22.901	22.901	
2	21	Scott Speed		STR-Cosworth		33	15:01:25	40.915	1:03.786	
2	18	Tiago Monteiro		MF1-Toyota		33	15:01:40	37.932	1:00.025	
2	1	Fernando Alonso		Renault			34	15:01:49	20.934	43.947	
2	19	Christijan Albers	MF1-Toyota		33	15:02:05	30.698	52.924	
2	3	Kimi Räikkönen		McLaren-Mercedes	34	15:02:13	29.926	53.125	
2	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	34	15:02:21	36.160	59.084	
2	16	Nick Heidfeld		Sauber-BMW		34	15:02:22	20.160	40.960	
2	22	Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda	33	15:02:25	22.983	45.042	
2	12	Jenson Button		Honda			34	15:02:27	21.479	42.766	
3	7	Ralf Schumacher		Toyota			34	15:02:35	20.822	51.864	
2	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR-Cosworth		34	15:02:40	22.848	45.297	
2	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault			34	15:02:41	19.612	42.939	
3	23	Yuji Ide		Super Aguri-Honda	33	15:05:02	40.486	1:26.523	
2	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda			38	15:11:43	20.396	40.063	
2	14	David Coulthard		Red Bull Racing		38	15:11:44	19.899	40.424	
3	22	Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda	47	15:29:20	19.486	1:04.528

Flibster · 2 Apr 2006 at 13:07

Current Standings - Revised

2006 Drivers Championship.

Code:

[b]Pos	Driver			Nationality	Team			Points[/b]
1	Fernando Alonso		Spanish		Renault			28	
=3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian		Renault			14	
=3	Kimi Räikkönen		Finnish		McLaren-Mercedes	14	
=5	Michael Schumacher	German		Ferrari			11	
=5	Jenson Button		British		Honda			11	
6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Colombian	McLaren-Mercedes	9	
7	Ralf Schumacher		German		Toyota			7	
=9	Nick Heidfeld		German		Sauber-BMW		5	
=9	Jacques Villeneuve	Canadian	Sauber-BMW		5	
10	Felipe Massa		Brazilian	Ferrari			4	
11	Mark Webber		Australian	Williams-Cosworth	3	
=13	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Honda			2	
=13	Nico Rosberg		German		Williams-Cosworth	2	
=15	David Coulthard		Scottish	RBR-Ferraro		1
=15	Christian Klien		Austrian	RBR-Ferrari		1

2006 Constructors Championship.

Code:

[b]Pos	Constructor 		Points[/b]
1 	Renault 		42 	
2 	McLaren-Mercedes 	23 	
3 	Ferrari 		15 	
4 	Honda 			13 	
5 	Sauber-BMW 		10 	
6 	Toyota 			7 	
7 	Williams-Cosworth 	5 	
8 	RBR-Ferrari 		2

Flibster · 2 Apr 2006 at 13:10

Australia GP: Race notes - Toro Rosso

Scott Speed: "To come from wherever we were on the grid – I can't even remember where we were, but I know it was a big number – it is incredible to come away from here with a point. We always said our goal was to grab some points this year and to get the first one so early is incredible. It's one step closer to my goal. It was really exciting and what a feeling to come round on the last lap and to see the whole team up on the wall. It was one of the greatest moments I've ever had in my life."

Tonio Liuzzi: "What happened was a real shame as we were competitive and had a really good pace. I am not very happy as I think Jacques (Villeneuve) might have put me in the wall. I am happy for Scott and the team that he picked up a point. Now I am looking forward to Imola where if the car is as competitive as here we can have a good race."

Gerhard Berger (Team Owner): "Lucky and unlucky on the same day as with Tonio we were in a very good position today and could have finished higher. I am very happy with the result and the point. We had a race speed that was good enough to fight with Michael Schumacher at a certain stage and the others too. I think the whole team performed well and is steadily getting better. Now it is important that our speed of development matches that of the other teams."

Flibster · 2 Apr 2006 at 13:10

Australia GP: Race notes - Midland F1

In what proved to be the most unusual and incident-filled race of the year thus far, Christijan Albers drove a smooth and steady race to bring his M16 home in 11th place.

Tiago Monteiro's car suffered a disappointing mechanical failure, marking only the second occasion in 22 races the Portuguese driver has been forced to retire.

Colin Kolles, Managing Director: "This was a bittersweet result for us. I think Tiago drove well enough to potentially score a top ten finish had he not had a malfunction. Christijan also drove a strong race and made a very good move to get past Sato. We have to overcome some reliability issues, for sure, but we are improving all the time, so that's encouraging. We are still a young team, so we just have to keep working hard and building on what we've learned."

Adrian Burgess, Sporting Director: "Christijan finished 11th in a fairly action-packed afternoon. We had a mechanical problem with Tiago, which was unfortunate, as both drivers were having a good race. We made a couple of good calls and one not-so-good call with the safety car pit strategies, which kept us on our toes. Looking ahead, we need to work harder to improve the reliability so that we can come back fighting in Europe."

Christijan Albers: "On the one hand, it's kind of frustrating to not be battling where I think we should be - in the middle of the pack. On the other hand, I think we're improving and at least now I'm finishing races, which is something I didn't always get to do last year. The first part of the race, I got caught in the group behind Sato, with Barrichello and Coulthard. We were stuck there for a long time, and that was really a shame. After the first pit stop, I was still behind Sato but then I overtook him on a straight, on the outside. That felt good. There were four safety car periods, so the race order got confusing at times, but in the end I felt that I could run with the other cars. It's just a shame that we couldn't score points today."

Tiago Monteiro: "Overall, I saw it as being quite a positive weekend. We had a great Friday, some problems on Saturday, but then I was having a great race, with some very good lap times compared to the others. There may have even been the possibility of a top ten today, which would have been a high point for us. Unfortunately, problems happen in F1 - something many other teams also experienced - and we had a technical issue that prevented me from finishing. It is frustrating, but I understand that that's how racing goes sometimes. I'm just happy that at least the car was performing well in the race, and that's what motivates me for the next one. Now we need to understand what happened, why it happened, and how to prevent it from happening again."

Flibster · 2 Apr 2006 at 13:16

Australia GP: Race notes - BMW

In a breathtaking Australian Grand Prix, the BMW Sauber F1 Team not only brought both of its BMW Sauber F1.06s home to the finish, but scored points with each as Nick Heidfeld finished fourth, and Jacques Villeneuve sixth.

Nick Heidfeld: I am really happy about this result. We were already competitive in practice but we were even stronger in the race. I think it's fantastic for a new team having both cars in the points, especially considering where Jacques started. My only problem was that I couldn't get heat into the tyres immediately after each safety car period; it was particularly bad after the last one when Kimi was all over me, and we touched lightly in Turn 4. I then braked too late for Turn 6 because the front tyres were still not up to temperature, and as I ran wide he was able to pass me. So was Ralf, within metres of yellow flags. My compliments to the pit crew, who did a fabulous job.

Jacques Villeneuve: Starting from 19th place with a full tank and finishing sixth is obviously a lot better than I expected, so it was a very good race for me. The only problem I had was warming up the tyres after the numerous safety car phases. We have to have a look at this to improve the situation, but otherwise our pace was good.

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): It was a turbulent race with many exciting moments. We are proud that we were able to bring both cars home in the points for the first time. Nick ran amongst the front-runners throughout the race, while our decision proved correct to start Jacques with a full tank from his 19th place on the grid. Congratulations to the entire team, not only here at the track but back in Munich and Hinwil too.

Willy Rampf (Technical Director Chassis): The race was extremely thrilling. We opted for two different strategies, with Nick on two stops and Jacques on one because of his starting position. Both strategies paid off. In Nick's case we brought the second stop forward because of the safety car period and as he thus had a relatively high amount of fuel still aboard we were able to rejoin the race quicker and gain positions. Overall we are happy with the performance of our cars, as well as today's results and the championship points we scored.

Flibster · 2 Apr 2006 at 13:16

Australia GP: Race notes - Honda

A torrid race came to a disappointing conclusion for pole-sitter Jenson Button in Melbourne today. Three outings for the safety car in an action-packed Australian Grand Prix left Jenson struggling for grip as he was unable to get heat into his tyres and he lost three places as the field reacted to three major accidents. He was running 5th and looking good for 4 points when his engine blew as he passed through the final corner.

Despite brake problems throughout the race, Rubens Barrichello was able to translate a disappointing grid slot into a 7th place finish, which opens his 2006 points account.

With a three week break before the next race in Imola, the team has two weeks of testing ahead to analyse these problems, first in Vallelunga, Italy and then in Barcelona. As Jenson did not take the chequered flag in Melbourne today he escapes a 10-place grid penalty in the next race, which gives the team the opportunity to maximise the benefit of its testing developments.

Jenson Button: "It's disappointing to end the weekend as we did today after starting the race in pole position. The way the race panned out with the three safety cars left me struggling for grip after each restart and I lost so much time and so many places. I could feel that something was wrong with the engine in turn 13 and it was a difficult way to end the race after such a long hard battle. The car is strong when we have tyre temperature, but when we don't we have massive grip problems. We have two weeks of testing before Imola and hopefully we can solve these problems."

Rubens Barrichello: "It was very frustrating that Jenson was unable to finish the race. Although we didn't have the pace to fight very hard, it was disappointing to see him go out like that. I struggled the whole race with the brakes and it was impossible for me to overtake, although I was able to get past Speed and gain position. I have a couple of points at least, so in that respect at least my season is underway now. I think we all realise what a lot of work there is to do in the next couple of weeks in testing if we are to start the European season in a more competitive position."

Gil de Ferran, Sporting Director: "Jenson had a very difficult time to warm up the tyres at the start and every restart after that, which meant that he progressively lost places in those situations. The same issue troubled both drivers. Then we had an engine failure on the last turn. Rubens had a tough race through the field and did a good job to finish in the points. We were unlucky with him on the second outing for the safety car since we elected to keep him out to gain track position, but the plan didn't work when he encountered traffic. Overall we were certainly hoping for more but despite the disappointment we will continue to keep pushing. There are two tests prior to Imola where we will be able to look into some of the issues that afflicted us here."

Shuhei Nakamoto, Management Board Member - Honda Racing F1 Team, Engineering Director - Honda Racing Development: "We'll be studying the data to work out the cause of Jenson's engine problem. We're sorry his efforts did not bring him any points today. He drove a strong race but struggled for grip after the safety car periods. Rubens did well to score his first points of the season. We have lots to work on in testing to get where we need to be."

Flibster · 2 Apr 2006 at 13:17

Australia GP: Race notes - Ferrari

Jean Todt: "It was a weekend to forget. Going home without points is a very bitter feeling, given that we had all we needed to succeed. Felipe paid a high price for yesterday's qualifying, getting caught up in the sort of situation that typically happens towards the back of the pack at the start. After a first part to the race which was difficult as it was hard to get the tyres up to temperature, Michael went on the attack to try and move up the order. Unfortunately, he lost control of the car after clipping a kerb which unbalanced the car and ended up in the wall. This big disappointment does not alter our targets, but it does make them harder to reach. Now we want to show with results that we have what it takes to get back on top, starting when we race at home in Imola."

Michael Schumacher: "I was pushing to the maximum to try and close on Jenson and pass him. Probably he had some problems as he was not very quick. I tucked in behind him and unexpectedly I got some heavy understeer and finished on the grass. I had to push, because that's the part of the track where it's possible to pass. Today, our main problem was keeping the tyres up to temperature, especially in the first part of the race and also because there were a few safety car periods. We had chosen this compound specifically for the race, and once they reached the right operating temperature, they were going well, as was obvious after the pit stop. At first, it was difficult to drive, as after locking the wheels a few times the tyres were completely finished. It's clear we have a lot of work to do."

Felipe Massa: "Not much to say… At the first turn, I had Klien on my left and Speed on my right. Christian touched me, which spun me around and to the right, then I hit Rosberg and ended up in the barrier. There was nothing I could do as I was basically a passenger in my car. I am very unhappy because I am sure I could have had a good race. It's been a weekend to forget. Now we must turn the page and work to be as well prepared as possible for Imola."

Ross Brawn: "It was a bad day. In the first stint of the race, Michael could not push the way he wanted as he struggled to get the tyres up to temperature, which was also partly down to the many safety car periods. Then, in the second part, it was clear that he could maintain a good pace. A shame about the accident which meant a good result was not possible. Now we have work to do, with significant developments to be tried on the car in the coming weeks."

Flibster · 2 Apr 2006 at 13:18

Australia GP: Race notes - Toyota

Panasonic Toyota Racing took a dream podium after a dramatic Australian Grand Prix. Both Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli qualified in the top ten but they endured mixed fortunes in an incident-strewn race. Ralf raced strongly near the front early on before losing time for a drive-through penalty. But he made the most of a series of safety car restarts on his way to an eventual six points for 3rd place. Jarno's afternoon was much shorter as he was taken out of the race on the very first lap. Trulli was overtaking David Coulthard when the pair clashed, breaking the Toyota's rear suspension. Ralf's podium means that Toyota will return to Europe with hopes of a continued challenge during the coming races. The team is scheduled to test at France's Paul Ricard circuit next week as it bids to make further steps forward.

Ralf Schumacher raced strongly throughout today's incident-packed race gaining several places before taking 3rd place.

Ralf Schumacher: "We are all very happy with what we achieved today. The drive through penalty was my fault because I accidentally hit the button twice but I was lucky and due to the safety car periods we achieved a lot more than we ever thought before this weekend. At the start we were sliding around and locking wheels. But while we've had problems with warming up our tyres in earlier races, others seemed to struggle with that today. Some of the safety car periods were a bit of a fight with all the backmarkers in there but after the third safety car period I gained a couple of places which was great. Grip was hard to come by so I really had to fight the whole race to keep the car there, but it worked out in the end and we achieved a great result. We are still a way from the top teams so we have to work, but I have no doubt that our crew is able to do that. We're strong people and pushing hard so I'm looking forward to the next few races."

Jarno Trulli's race ended early when he suffered a broken rear suspension after a clash with Coulthard on the first lap.

Jarno Trulli: "I'm happy that Ralf did so well and it shows that we have the pace to challenge again. But this has been a disastrous weekend for me and it was a shame to be punted out of the race so early. A couple of corners in I was following Coulthard who was going very slowly and zigzagging on the straight. I went to the inside to overtake him and I was ahead at the corner but he just closed the door on me, hitting me on the back. That broke my rear suspension and put me out of the race. I was just being careful and overtaking a slower car so I don't understand how it happened and I was surprised by what he did. I've had such bad luck this weekend, I just hope that I've had my share for a while. We showed good pace so I hope we can keep that up and my fortunes can improve back in Europe."

The Panasonic Toyota Racing team is delighted to have come away from Australia with its first podium finish of 2006.

John Howett - President, Toyota Motorsport: "That was an incredibly exciting and eventful race and it was a suberb job by Ralf and the whole team especially when you consider the difficult start to the year. It was unlucky for Jarno. He was passed by Coulthard at the first corner but then he made a clean pass back and Coulthard just turned in on him. So that was a shame, but with Ralf we could run reasonably competitively. The tyres were very good, too. Everyone struggled after the safety car periods here but Bridgestone have helped us to get on top of the problem of getting heat into the tyres and that paid off. When Ralf got the drive through penalty for speeding in the pit lane, we thought we'd thrown away a podium chance. We were a bit lucky with the number of incidents but for all the safety cars we managed to get the strategy right, and it was excellent team work from the boys as always. Ralf drove aggressively on the restarts and we were able to pick up places, which was fantastic. This is a well deserved shot of adrenaline to the whole team who have worked so hard over the winter."

Flibster · 2 Apr 2006 at 13:19

Australia GP: Race notes - Red Bull

After a good start by David, Jarno Trulli made contact with the Scot's car on the first lap of the race. 'Silly arse' said David, or at least, something to that effect…. On lap seven, Christian went off the track and into the wall, and became one of nine retirements of the afternoon. Coulthard completed the race in ninth place.

David Coulthard: "Scott Speed overtook me under a yellow flag. The Stewards asked me to explain the incident, which occurred under the yellow flag for Tonio's accident. The data shows that Scott overtook while the yellow flags were being waved. On the first lap, I passed Jarno Trulli on Turn two. Going into Turn three I looked into the mirror and saw him coming so I moved over, but he ran wide so I passed him again. In Turn six he did the same thing. However, this time I didn't see him coming, he side-swiped me and hit the side of my car putting me in the gravel and himself out of the race. There was no way he was going to make the corner."

Christian Klien: "There was a safety car period at the beginning of the race and it very difficult to warm up my tyres. I struggled a lot with that, it made it really tricky to drive the car and I was also on a very heavy fuel load. On lap seven, I touched the brakes, the rear locked or something broke, I'm not sure, and I went off the track into the wall. There was nothing I could do. The crash looked worse than it was I think. It felt as if I got hit twice on the rear of my car on the first lap of the race and nearly went off on the first corner as a result, but I don't think that was related to my going off the track later on. I'm really disappointed."

Christian Horner, Sporting Director: "Unfortunately both cars were victims of other drivers exuberance on the first lap. David made a very good start overtaking both Schumacher and Trulli, but further round the lap Trulli made a very optimistic manoeuvre, which pushed David to the back of the field. Christian was involved with the incident between Massa and Rosberg and took a big knock on the rear of his car. A couple of laps later he had quite a large accident, which may have been a result of the earlier incident. Obviously, until we've seen all the data and examined all the components, we won't have the answer on that."

Flibster · 2 Apr 2006 at 13:19

Australia GP: Race notes - Super Aguri

Following an action-packed Australian Grand Prix, Super Aguri drivers Takuma Sato and Yuji Ide both came home safely to finish the race in 12th and 13th positions respectively. The 57-lap spectacle featured numerous incidents and safety car outings right up to the very end, but the SAF1 Team drivers both drove a solid race despite experiencing a few minor problems of their own.

Takuma Sato: "At the start of the race I was driving side-by-side with many other cars for position and I was able to work my way up to the middle of the pack – it was very exciting and I really enjoyed it. Although the safety car came out three times today it was very good training for us and I am happy that we managed to complete our actions successfully. Unfortunately though I had a problem with my left-front wheel and had to come into the pits towards the end of the race. At the end of the next lap I had another wheel problem, this time with my front-right, and so I had to finish the race in the pitlane. I am a little disappointed that I did not take the chequered flag as the boys had done such a great job today, but it was still a great day for the team."

Yuji Ide: "This is the first time that both Taku and I have finished a race, so I am happy about that. However, I am far from being competitive compared to the other drivers, so I want to improve my driving skills and learn the next circuit as quickly as possible. I will be testing in Barcelona in a week's time, so I will be able to spend more time in the car and learn more of the skills that I need to improve."

Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal: "It was such a dramatic race today. So many things happened, including with our cars, but I am glad to say that we have accomplished our very first team goal which was to have both cars finish the race. Although it is a small one, it is always a good feeling to accomplish your goal. I am sure that it was a difficult race for the drivers and the team, so I am grateful to all of them for their hard work."

Flibster · 2 Apr 2006 at 13:20

Australia GP: Race notes - Renault

The Renault F1 Team scored its third consecutive win of the 2006 Formula 1 season this afternoon at Melbourne's Albert Park circuit.

Fernando Alonso took his tenth career victory after starting from third position on the grid in an action-packed race which featured no fewer than four safety car periods. The Spaniard took the lead on lap 4 at the end of the first safety car period, in a perfectly-judged manoeuvre on Jenson Button's Honda, and only relinquished it during the first round of pit-stops. Giancarlo Fisichella was forced to start from the pit-lane after his R26 stalled on the grid, but a determined, forceful drive saw him claim fifth position right on the line, overtaking Button's stricken Honda on the finishing straight. The result leaves the Renault F1 Team with a nineteen point championship lead over its nearest rival, and Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella lie first and second in the championship.

Fernando Alonso: This was a very different race to the other two so far this season. In Bahrain, I was fighting with Michael all the way; in Malaysia, it was Jenson I was battling for second place. But today, it was quite comfortable. There were no fights, and I was very relaxed for a lot of the race. I had a good lead after the first pit-stops, but I lost it during the second safety car. However, I managed to get a good gap on each re-start, and that made life quite easy for me. I was very happy with the balance all the way through the race, so I just needed to make sure I didn't take any unnecessary risks and I am pleased we were able to save the engine performance for the next race. So far, we have shown we are strong in all conditions on all tracks. But Imola is a very different challenge, and we must have a calm approach, because we know it will be more difficult than ever.

Giancarlo Fisichella: After a race like that, I have really mixed feelings. You know, it's great to go from the pit-lane and to finish fifth, especially in such an exciting way. But also, we saw today that I had the car to fight for the win with Fernando, so I am disappointed I couldn't make use of it. At the start, the engine stalled and I had to start from the pit-lane, then during most of the first stint I had no telemetry – so I was giving the engineers updates on my fuel load all the time, and telling them about the car while overtaking the people in front of me. That problem fixed itself, but the second stint was really hard because the car was understeering so much during that part of the race. The team were calling me to push harder, but I was on the limit all the way. Then after the final stop, the clutch failed, and we only managed to fix it a few laps from the end. As soon as we did, I set my fastest lap, showed what I could do and started to put pressure on Jenson. I could see his engine was failing in the final corners, then I was blinded by the oil and smoke during the final corner with big oversteer, and I got him as he moved over the track. It was an exciting afternoon, and it's good to still score points after starting so far back. I am second in the championship going to Imola, and that's a great feeling because I should have a new specification engine there as well.

Flavio Briatore, Managing Director: This was a fantastic win for Fernando. He had a great car this afternoon, and he controlled the race from start to finish. There were a lot of complicated situations to deal with, and he did it brilliantly. I am sorry for Fisi, because he suffered with more problems. We only solved it right towards the end of the race, and then it was too late for him to get close to the podium. But he showed he had the performance at the end, and we still scored a lot more points than our rivals today. We are in a strong position, but we will keep on pushing.

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: This was a really hard weekend. We had rain, unusually cold temperatures, and a punctuated race. But the car showed great performance, so we are very, very pleased with our result. Fernando put in a faultless drive, and he was able to run at whatever pace was needed with ease. The safety car periods denied him the luxury of a big lead ,but he was able to maximise his performance in the laps immediately afterwards, as his early overtaking manoeuvre on Jenson showed. He then built good leads after every other safety car period, and controlled the race. Giancarlo was unfortunate at the start, when his anti-stall system triggered several times. He was unable to catch the last one, and this meant the safety systems shut the engine down. After starting from the pit-lane, he benefited from the first safety car to catch the field, and then drove very well. He had a lot of understeer during the middle part of the race, when we were encouraging him to push hard over the radio, and then the clutch failed after the final stop. That gave us some worries for a few laps, but once the problem had been solved, he started pushing Jenson very hard. This paid off handsomely to give Fisi a well-deserved fifth place after a fantastic race. The team is in a very strong position now after three races, but there are still fifteen to go. We have some important test sessions coming up in the next fortnight, and we are still working hard to improve the performance of the car.