Formula One News — March 2005

Formula 1 has a very high profile in Germany thanks to the exploits of Michael Schumacher but it is also vital in the marketing battle that goes on between BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

The Melbourne Grand Prix weekend is over and Formula 1 got off to a half-decent start to the new season, despite some obvious shortcomings in the new regulations and a political battle which was so complicated that very few people understood what was going on.

They say that Formula 1 teams will invest in anything that will give them an advantage in a race. In 2005 the unfair advantage will come from the weather. Thus the best possible weapon in the F1 battle at the moment is a rain-making device employed on a Saturday just after a team's car has run in qualifying.

Australian GP - Race Notes

Australian GP - Sunday Photos

Australian GP - Sunday Press Conference

Australian GP - Race Incidents

Australian GP - Sunday Team Quotes

Australian GP - Race Results

Australian GP - Qualifying Session 2 Report

Australian GP - Starting Grid

Australian GP - Qualifying Session 2 Results

Formula 1's idea to have aggregated qualifying proved to be a complete mess in Melbourne on Saturday as a rain storm in the middle of the session screwed the hopes of some of the big stars.

The FIA's press release about motor racing in Australia went down like a lead balloon in Melbourne on Saturday.

Australian GP - Saturday Photos

The FIA spent most of Saturday coming up with a four paragraph statement about the decision of the Victorian Supreme Court which granted Paul Stoddart of Minardi an injunction to race 2004 cars in the Australian Grand Prix.

Australian GP - Saturday Press Conference

Australian GP - Saturday Team Quotes

Australian GP - Qualifying Session 1 Results

The third practice session for the Australian Grand Prix gave us a good indication of the speed of the current F1 cars in relation to one another with Kimi Raikkonen emerging fastest in his McLaren with a lap of 1m27.297s.

Australian GP - Practice Session 4 Results

Australian GP - Practice Session 3 Results

A sudden flurry of activity in the final moments of the second practice session gave us a hint of what to expect in qualifying on Saturday and Sunday. The fastest time of the session went to McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa, three-tenths of a second ahead of his team mate Kimi Raikkonen.

Paul Stoddart gained an injunction in court in Melbourne to allow the two Minardis to take part in the event. And then suddenly for no obvious reason backed down and had his team convert the cars to 2005 specification.

Formula 1 rarely learns anything from other sports but it might be worth looking at the US ice hockey scene to see how to sort out the problems of the sport.