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Schumacher wins season opener, Marshall killed
by Mark Cipolloni
March 4, 2001

Defending World Driving Champion, Michael Schumacher, has won the F1 season opener comfortably, leading all laps except when he pitted.  McLaren’s David Coulthard was second and Schumacher’s Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello third. BAR’s Olivier Panis, Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld and Jordan’s Heinz-Harald Frentzen rounded out the points-paying positions. 

There were several accidents during the race, the most frightening between Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher.  No drivers were injured but a track marshal was struck by debris and died as a result of his injuries. 

Several cars went out on the first lap, including Enrique Bernoldi and Gaston Mazzacane, but the biggest incident was the huge crash between Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher. The Canadian went into the back of Schumacher and was launched into the air, he then struck the tire wall and spun along it before coming to a halt in the gravel trap. Schumacher lost a large proportion of the rear of his car and was also out of the race. 

Both drivers were unharmed and willing to talk about the incident. "The car was very easy to drive and the race was going well," said Villeneuve. "My next move was to overtake Ralf. I was thinking about whether to go right or left and chose to go right. Ralf then braked but it was too late for me to go left. I feel OK at the moment." 

Ralf added, "I braked into Turn 4 when there was suddenly a knock on the back. Either Jacques didn't know when to brake or he didn't know where I was going, but it was not my fault. It is an easy mistake though and the main thing is that we are OK. I looked after myself and once I was out the car I looked round for Jacques who appeared to be OK." 

Unfortunately the news soon emerged that a marshal had been killed at the scene, as happened at the Italian Grand Prix last year when Paolo Gislimberti was struck by a loose tire. The identity of the marshal is not yet known. 

Mika Hakkinen crashed out from second place. It is suspected that the accident was caused by the failure of a lower wishbone in the front suspension. The Finn was sent to the medical center after a mark was discovered on his helmet and he was diagnosed as having a mild concussion. Although McLaren considered calling Coulthard in to check his car it was decided that this was not necessary. 

"As I braked I suddenly lost control of the car," said Hakkinen. "It happened so fast that it was impossible to control. Fortunately I am OK. I called Erja (his wife) and told her I was OK, which is very important. At the moment I don't know what happened. Once the car is back we will study what went wrong. I realized that I couldn't push anymore a few laps out, and about 3 corners away felt something go under braking." 

The race began positively for Heinz-Harald Frentzen who made the most of his second row start position to move up to third at the first corner while his team-mate Jarno Trulli also pushed up a place on the opening lap. Michael Schumacher converted his pole position into a controlled lead from Mika Hakkinen's McLaren, pursued by Frentzen, Rubens Barrichello in the second Ferrari, McLaren's David Coulthard, Trulli and Ralf Schumacher in the Williams-BMW. What looked to be a promising race for Heinz-Harald then took a turn for the worse on lap three as Rubens Barrichello attacked the Jordan Honda. The two cars made contact, with Heinz-Harald coming off the worse and recovering from an off-track excursion into 16th place, from where he began a gritty climb back up the field. Two laps later, Jacques Villeneuve's race came to a premature end as he collided with Ralf Schumacher's Williams-BMW, sending the BAR Honda airborne and into the trackside wall. 

The safety car was immediately deployed and the field lined up astern, with Trulli and Panis running in fifth and sixth places and Frentzen already up to 13th place. It was lap 15 before the track was ready for the race to be continued and at the restart Frentzen got straight down to business, climbing to 11th and then 9th positions over the next 10 laps. With Schumacher controlling the lead to Hakkinen the race seemed to settle down until on lap 25 Hakkinen's McLaren crashed into a tire barrier, ending his challenge and promoting Barrichello, Coulthard, Trulli and Panis to second, third, fourth and fifth positions respectively. Seven laps later Panis moved up to fourth as Trulli's engine began to lose power, which resulted in the Italian driver's retirement from the race. 

On the next lap Coulthard passed Barrichello into second but Schumacher's Ferrari was by now established in a commanding lead which was never really threatened, even through the session of pitstops which then followed. Virtually all the teams elected to switch to a one-stop strategy following the prolonged period behind the safety car and as the race order shakeout took place at the end of the pitstops, Schumacher had victory in sight. 

Frentzen at this point had achieved 6th place and despite running within half a second of the tail of Nick Heidfeld's Sauber for the last 10 laps and using his best efforts to force a mistake out of his compatriot, he was unable to find a way past and had to settle for sixth.

Results

World Drivers' Championship (after 1 of 17 events).

1. Michael Schumacher Germany Ferrari-Ferrari 10 points
2. David Coulthard Britain McLaren-Mercedes 6 points
3. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 4 points
4. Olivier Panis France BAR-Honda 3 points
5. Nick Heidfeld Germany Sauber-Petronas 2 points
6. Heinz-Harald Frentzen Germany Jordan-Honda 1 point


Constructors' Championship (after 1 of 17 events).

1. Ferrari-Ferrari 14 points
2. McLaren-Mercedes 6 points
3. BAR-Honda 3 points
4. Sauber-Petronas 2 points
5. Jordan-Mugen 1 point

Post-Race Press Conference
Due to the death of the safety Marshall, the press conference was very short.

Q: And here we are with top three drivers from the 2001 Australian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello. I wonder, Michael, if you could just give us a simple story of your race today.

Michael Schumacher: Obviously, I had a great start. We worked hard all winter about that, and as you see it worked out well, very well; I was quite pleased with this. Then I just tried to split my race into a kind of rhythm to be fast when I had to be fast and not overdrive the car when it was unnecessary. Obviously then we had the safety car situation, and unfortunately we've just been told that the marshal did die. Obviously we are all shocked about this, and we have to look out [for] what is possible from our side to what support we can give, but certainly everybody is very much down for this situation.

Q: Michael thank you, David, a quick word from you.

David Coulthard: Well, obviously, the overriding story of the race is as Michael's just mentioned, the fatality of the marshal, and I think on behalf of all the drivers our thoughts go out to his family and we need obviously study how we can improve track safety to these people who give their time to enable us to go racing. That to one side, I had a fairly straightforward race to pick up six points, but that seems pretty insignificant when there is loss of life involved.

Q: Thank you, David. And now, Rubens.

Rubens Barrichello: Well, to score some points to begin with is quite good, but we're definitely not happy because of what Michael and David said. It's very bad when a colleague that is there for you happens to be in an incident like that, so my thoughts are with him and his family. There is no way we can make up for this race. 

Rookie Juan Montoya ran as high as 5th before his BMW engine expired.  "It's disappointing that I couldn't see the checkered flag because I had a good race so far. I think WilliamsF1 and BMW did a fantastic job and my Michelin tires were performing really well, especially at the end of the run when I did my fastest lap and it was looking quite good. The engine blew up without giving me any warning. I can say now that running in F1 can be fun. I first thought overtaking was going to be impossible but now I realize that you can if you plan it - like in Champ Car races - and it's also very exciting! The car looks good and I am quite confident we're going to show well through the season."

Ralf Schumacher said "I am awfully sorry that a man who was looking after our safety was killed today. My deepest sympathy goes to his relatives and friends. I was on the inside of the track going my way and being careful not to make any change of line. I braked and suddenly felt a huge bang in the back and saw Jacques flying over me. I spun hoping that I would crash nowhere. I think that Jacques overrated himself a bit, just like last year in Canada, when he ran into my car. After I got out of my car I had a look at the cockpit of the BAR, which was almost destroyed and I was glad to know that Jacques had already stepped out of it."

Kazutoshi Nishizawa - Technical Director, Honda Racing Development "Firstly, both the reliability and the performance of the engines and the teams was generally good but there is a lot of work to do. Although I'm sorry for Olivier, Heinz drove a very good race to come back from 16th and finish fifth." 

Tadasu Takahashi - Engine Engineer, BAR Honda "I feel relieved to have finished in the first race. Jacques and his car were in good shape so it was unfortunate for him not to finish. Both engines performed fine and overall I feel that the package all round is better." 

Hiroshi Shirai - Engine Engineer, Jordan Honda "Overall I am quite happy with our performance but with mixed feelings. Our competitiveness is good and Jordan and Honda are working well together, however it was disappointing to be running third and get put down to 16th but it was a great fight-back by Heinz-Harald. As for Jarno, he started having a misfire but we are not sure what caused it yet but of course we are taking steps to find out and get a counter-measure in place for Malaysia." 

Every member of the OrangeArrows team would like to extend their deepest sympathies to the family of the track marshal who died today.

Jos Verstappen:
“I had a really good start, passed about four cars there and, by the time the Safety Car came out I was up to seventh. Settling into the race, I had a lot of understeer so wasn’t able to push as hard as I would have liked, but most important for the team is that we finished the first race. We know what we have to do and hopefully we can get this done in a short time.”

Enrique Bernoldi:
“I didn’t get the best start and lost two places in the confusion at the second chicane. The car felt good during the first couple of laps but, whilst chasing Raikkonen, I got a wheel on the grass and lost the car, race over. It was a mistake. Not the result I wanted from my first Grand Prix of course but I have definitely learnt a lot today and will try all over again in Malaysia.”

Mike Coughlan, Technical Director, OrangeArrows
“Definitely a step in the right direction. We’re pleased we have done our first race distance with the A22 at our first attempt and also that Asiatech have got on top of reliability. The performance is a little disappointing but with more test time we can only improve.”

Didier Debae, Asiatech
“It has been a very positive weekend for Asiatech. The reliability shown throughout practice was rewarded by a strong drive from Jos Verstappen. It was a just reward for all the hard work put in by the team in Velizy and augers well for the future.”

The Mild Seven Benetton Renault Sport team had a satisfactory start to the 2001 Formula One season at the Australian Grand Prix, in a race that was marred by the tragic death of a safety marshal. The marshal died from injuries sustained after an accident on lap six involving the BAR of Jacques Villeneuve and the Williams of Ralf Schumacher.

Mild Seven Benetton Renault Sport Managing Director Flavio Briatore summed up the somber feelings of everyone in the paddock when he said afterwards:

"The thoughts of the whole team go out to the family of the marshal who tragically died in the race. This extremely sad event clouds the results today."

The race itself was one of attrition, which saw Giancarlo Fisichella come home 13th in chassis no. B201/03 after completing 55 laps in 1hr38:50:501s.

His team-mate Jenson Button failed to finish, stopping in the closing minutes of the race after completing 52 laps in chassis no. B201/01 in a time of 1hr33:33:401s.

Team Technical Director Mike Gascoyne said afterwards that he was satisfied with the result.

"We are very pleased to have got one car to the finish and the other so close to the end," he explained. "Our cars were running competitively until they both suffered what we think were exhaust failures, which meant we lost a lot of power, but I am very pleased as Renault Sport introduced a new spec. engine for this race with the aim of increasing reliability and this was certainly achieved today.

"Jenson was forced to stop shortly before the end due to an electrical problem from overheating," he added, "which was caused by the exhaust problem."

Button's team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella explained his lack of speed in the second half of the race, saying:

"I did a good start and was very careful as it was important to finish the race. The car was running well and it felt good, but then it developed a problem that we are looking into, which meant I lost power and so could only cruise to the end of the race."

Meanwhile Jenson Button had a hectic afternoon and afterwards told the story of his race, saying:

"I was very impressed with how good the car was off the line at the start. I pulled up to eleventh and then I had a little battle with Verstappen, which resulted in me running over the kerb and losing quite a few places.

"After that, the car felt well balanced and I was competitive," he continued. "After my stop/go penalty there was a problem, which we think was the exhaust, which meant I couldn't push at all and it was a shame as this meant I had to stop so close to the end of the race."

The Mild Seven Benetton Renault Sport team now fly to Malaysia ahead of the second round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, which takes place at Sepang on March 18th.

The first points have been scored placing the Benson and Hedges Jordan Honda team in 4th place in the Constructors' Championship.

Heinz had a very good start to take 3rd place at the first corner after overtaking Coulthard, although a coming together with Barrichello on lap 3 caused him to spin, rejoining the field in 16th place. He fought a hard race with a one stop strategy, and claimed one point in the first race of the 2001 World Championship, later converted to two points following a penalty for Panis.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen:
Before Panis's penalty, Heinz-Harald commented 'I was pleased with my start although Coulthard and I touched wheels before the first corner. The car was very well balanced and I was enjoying the race, but then on my racing line, Barrichello hit me from behind whilst trying to overtake me and pushed me into a spin. That ruined the race for me. After these two incidents the car was suffering with understeer. I chased Heidfeld for the last 10 laps and did everything I could, but was not able to close the gap. I feel however, scoring a point in the first race of the season is a good result for the team. It demonstrates the car's reliability which is a positive step to build on.'

Jarno Trulli:
'I made a very good start moving across to the right whilst the other cars moved to the left, and was moving up positions on the straight before Barrichello closed me into the wall, forcing me to lift off the throttle. From the first lap there was something not quite right with the engine, and it got more and more difficult each lap until I had to retire on lap 33. It's disappointing because I was having a good race in fifth position, and even with this problem I was still holding off Panis and making ground on Coulthard. The positive thing from this race is that I had a good car set-up as we were able to understand and resolve the problems I experienced during qualifying.'

Eddie Jordan, Chief Executive:
'This result is a bit disappointing after the qualifying positions we had. The collision at the corner between Heinz and Rubens hindered Heinz from having a really strong finish, but he did well to drive back to the points. The data from Jarno's car shows there was an engine misfire resulting in a loss of power, but he was driving a super race and through no fault of his own was unable to finish. The good thing about this weekend is that the car has really been on the pace and performed well.'

The West McLaren Mercedes team finished the first race of the season with David Coulthard claiming a strong second place to open his and the team's 2001 Formula One World Championship challenge. Mika Hakkinen's race finished on lap 25 when his car had a front right suspension failure which caused him to go off the track at Stewart corner.

The event was overshadowed by the death of a Marshall and it is difficult to reflect on the race in such circumstances. The entire West McLaren Mercedes team would like to express their deepest sympathy to the family of the Marshall who lost his life whilst performing his duties during the race.

David Coulthard:
'I was quicker off the line than the cars in front of me but my front wheels got caught between their rear wheels but fortunately I got away without any damage. I'm happy with my performance because I was able to overtake Trulli and Ralf Schumacher to claim fourth and then get past Barrichello on the outside to take third which became second after Mika's retirement. Having to start from the third row I'm pleased that I managed to get six points today and we now have to further improve the performance of the car before Malaysia where we should be even better.'

Mika Hakkinen:
'Something broke on the car, which caused me to go off the track and hit the barrier at the entry of Stewart. I hit the brakes and then lost control of the car. I went to the medical centre for a check up as something hit my helmet but I'm fine. It was a shame as we were looking good and in hindsight our strategy might have given us a race win.'

Ron Dennis:
'We had the right strategy for the race and Mika was well positioned to optimise this advantage until his accident which was caused by front right suspension failure. David drove a great race and his overtaking manoeuvre to claim second was superb - combined with a well executed race strategy his result was well deserved.'

Norbert Haug:
'Mika's strong performance was unrewarded when his accident prevented him from challenging for the lead. David drove a strong race and performed well overtaking three cars. Both drivers were scheduled to have their pit stop late which we are convinced was the right strategy. We are happy with the reliability of the engine following the teething problems we had to overcome after Barcelona testing and we are definitely heading in the right direction.'

Fernando Alonso may have missed the podium at today’s Qantas Australian Grand Prix by nine positions, but his 12th-place finish nonetheless felt like nothing short of a victory for everyone at European Minardi F1. The Spanish teenager’s assured debut was not without incident, courtesy of a 10-second, stop-and-go penalty for a pitlane speeding violation and a close call with Rubens Barrichello’s Ferrari, but neither incident distracted him from producing a wonderfully polished, mature drive. In common with a number of other drivers in today’s race, Alonso made only a single stop for fuel and tires. The unfortunate run of bad luck that team mate, Tarso Marques, endured over the first two days of the Australian race weekend continued today, the Brazilian being forced to retire from the race on lap four with a suspected battery problem.

Fernando Alonso:
“Today’s objective was to finish the race, and that is what happened, so it couldn’t have turned out better. The team worked flat out over the weekend, and the race result is a clear demonstration of that. My car went really well over the whole race, allowing me to push hard until the end. I am sorry for getting in (Rubens) Barrichello’s way. I was rejoining the track after stopping in the pits and visibility in the rear-view mirrors was really reduced. I only saw him at the very last moment when it was already too late to let him pass. Apart from that, today’s race helped me to understand and test my physical shape, which to me is definitely good. I was not tired at all, even towards the end of the race. The car just went better and better as the fuel load lightened, so much so that in the closing stages of the race, I was even able to improve my lap times. Now we have accumulated more miles on the car, we’ll get ready for Malaysia, and hopefully another good race. I particularly want to thank all the lads on the team for today’s result. They are working together really well, despite having come together as a group only a few weeks ago. They really did a wonderful job.”

Tarso Marques:
“There was a problem with my car from the first lap, I think with the battery. It started to misfire slightly, and then it just became worse and worse, until the engine stopped altogether on lap four. Also, I wasn’t really happy with the brakes all weekend, and after a couple of laps of the race, the pedal developed too much travel and became soft. I think the car is basically very good. We just are suffering from a lack of pre-season testing time. I’m sure things will be better in Malaysia.”

Paul Stoddart:
“When we came to Melbourne, just arriving felt like winning a Grand Prix. When we went out on Friday and Saturday, they were our first test sessions. When we qualified, I felt it couldn’t get any better, but to take 12th place on our maiden outing, there are just not the words to describe the feeling. It is down to the huge effort that each and every member of the European Minardi F1 team has put in over the last few weeks that we have been able to achieve what is nothing short of a miracle. Fernando not only showed today what he is capable of, but also proved that the Gustav Brunner-designed European Minardi PS01 chassis will need to be taken seriously this year. I feel for Tarso as, without exception, every technical problem the team encountered this weekend was on his car. I’m certain, though, that we’ll see a lot more of his true potential starting with the Malaysian Grand Prix. It’s a great shame that such a wonderful day for our team should have been marred by the death of a marshal early in the race. We can only add our heartfelt sympathies to those of the other teams in the pit lane.”

Jean Alesi:
"To finish the race is a first important step for us. However, the result is well below my expectations. I thought I could be more competitive here, but already in free practice on Friday we realized it would be very difficult to adapt our car to this circuit and we haven’t been able to find a satisfactory solution for the race. "

Gaston Mazzacane:
"This was the shortest race of my career…I had a good start and the car was going well but I was still on my first lap when I felt the brake pedal was totally loose and I had to pull out. I am obviously disappointed, but I’m confident for the future "

Alain Prost:
"The first race on this very unusual circuit, cannot give us a clear idea of where we really stand in respect to our competitors. However, we now know on which areas we still have to work hard. We have not exploited the true potential of the car, but it’s already encouraging to see one of the cars through the checkered flag "

Henri Durand -- Technical Director:
"The positive point of this first Grand Prix is that Jean finished the race and that the engine-gearbox package has proved to be very reliable all weekend. We have identified the problem with Gaston’s car and it should not happen again. On the negative side, it’s clear that our car is not suited to this type of circuit, where we lacked downforce. We will act very rapidly in order to correct this. We believe that once we race on fast circuits, such as Interlagos and Imola, we will be able to exploit the full potential of the car. A big thank you to Michelin, for their great support throughout the weekend. We hope to improve together in the season and share some success ".

Nick Heidfeld and Kimi Raikkonen proved the competitiveness of the RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS C20 by finishing fourth and sixth respectively in the Qantas Australian GP 2001, after starting from 10th and 13th grid positions.

Nick Heidfeld (Driver):
Scoring my first World Championship points is excellent, and this one race has wiped away my 2000 season. I avoided the traffic in the first corner, and later got safely through the big accident when thousand of pieces seemed to be falling from the sky. After that I was able to settle down to a good pace. The car and our Bridgestone tires were consistent all the way through, and even at the end when I had real pressure from Heinz-Harald, I was able to keep cool and keep pushing. Finishing fourth is so exciting!

Kimi Raikkonen (Driver):
It's nice to finish my first Grand Prix, and even nicer to score my first World Championship point! I made a pretty bad start, which didn't help, but then I got into my rhythm. My only problem was some understeer initially on my second set of tires, which prevented me from going after Frentzen, but gradually the balance came back and I could keep pushing hard to the end. It's been a good day, and a great start to my F1 career.

Peter Sauber (Team Principal):
The result today was better than we had dared hope for, and our lap times were very competitive all the way through. To have been so close on speed to Heinz-Harald was a real boost. I am delighted that Nick´s great drive was rewarded with his first points, while Kimi Raikkonen was a miracle, lapping at the same speed as Nick and Heinz-Harald for the last 15 laps and scoring a point on his debut. This result makes me happy for our new partner, Credit Suisse, and is very, very important as it gives us a strong foundation for the season. It is a big compliment to the whole team to have created two reliable and fast cars.

On a more somber note, I would like to register our sympathy for the family of the marshal who was killed in the accident on the fifth lap.

The Lucky Strike Reynard BAR Honda team are extremely upset to hear that a Marshall was injured and has subsequently died as a result of the accident involving Jacques Villeneuve and BMW Williams driver Ralf Schumacher during the Australian Grand Prix today.

The team were also distressed to learn that 11 spectators sustained minor injuries as a result of flying debris. All of those involved received immediate attention at the circuit medical center and were released shortly afterwards without the need for further treatment.

A full investigation by the FIA in association with the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport is now underway and the team would prefer not to speculate over the cause of the accident until the results of the investigation have been released. However, at this time Team Principal and Managing Director, Craig Pollock, would like to issue the following statement:

Craig Pollock "It is with great sadness that we learned that a Marshall has died and that 11 spectators received injuries as a result of this incident. On behalf of Jacques, the British American Racing Honda team and myself I would like to express our sincere condolences to his family. Rest assured that we intend to co-operate fully with the official investigation.

At this time our thoughts and prayers are of course only with the family of the Marshall who has died."

Jaguar Racing drivers Eddie Irvine and Luciano Burti made steady progress to finish an incident packed 2001 Qantas Australian Grand Prix in 11th and 8th position respectively. Irvine's preparations for the race received a set back when the power steering on his Jaguar R2 failed before he took to the grid and was forced to use the spare car. During the opening lap, Irvine ran wide on the third corner after an incident with BMW WilliamsF1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya relegated him to the back of the pack. A fuel pressure problem hampered Irvine's race further when he was called to make a late pit stop for fuel 8 laps from the finish while holding 8th position. Burti's race was an assured and mature one with the 25 year -old Brazilian making the most of the race's many retirements.

Eddie Irvine
"It could have been better to be honest and it's never a good day if you don't finish in the points. I had to use the spare car due to a power steering failure and it didn't get off the line as well as my racecar. Montoya tried to overtake me into turn three from a long way back and knocked me off but there will be no re percussions. I drove around an engine misfire for the latter part of the race and this also meant coming in for a late pitstop."

Luciano Burti
"I was pleased with my start because I managed to overtake a few people on the first lap. I pushed very hard throughout the race and I'm happy to have finished in 8th place. My finishing position was obviously helped by other cars having problems and accidents, but I'm very pleased to have found a workable set -up from which we can now move forward. We changed the brakes from this morning's warm -up and they felt much better. We will now focus our efforts towards getting more pace out of the car, but overall I'm encouraged by the way our season has begun."

Bobby Rahal - Chief Executive and Team Principal
"Our cars were reliable today apart from a fuel pick-up problem on Eddie's car which meant he had to pit six laps from the end of the race. The biggest thing that hurt us today was both cars being at the end of the line after the first lap, which makes it very hard to come back. Both cars, however, went well and we benefited from the high rate of attrition. From here we need to step up the pace and work relentlessly in an effort to move this team forward quickly.

"On a sadder note, I would like to extend the team's deepest sympathies to the family of the track marshal who tragically lost his life here this afternoon."

The West McLaren Mercedes team finished the first race of the season with David Coulthard claiming a strong second place to open his and the team's 2001 Formula One World Championship challenge. Mika Hakkinen's race finished on lap 25 when his car had a front right suspension failure which caused him to go off the track at Stewart corner.

The event was overshadowed by the death of a Marshall and its difficult to reflect on the race in such circumstances. The entire West McLaren Mercedes team would like to express their deepest sympathy to the family of the Marshall who lost his life whilst performing his duties during the race.

DAVID COULTHARD
`I was quicker off the line than the cars in front of but my front wheels got caught between their rear wheels but fortunately I got away without any damage. I`m happy with my performance because I was able to overtake Trulli and Ralf Schumacher to claim fourth and then get past Barrichello on the outside to take third which became second after Mika's retirement. Having to start from the third row I'm pleased that I managed to get six points today and we now have to further improve the performance of the car before Malaysia where we should be even better.'

MlKA HAKKlNtN
`Something broke on the car, which caused me to go off the track and hit the barrier at the entry of Stewart. I hit the brakes and then last control of the car. I went to the medical center for a check up as something hit my helmet but I'm fine. It was a shame as we were looking good and in hindsight our strategy might have given us a race win.`

RON DENNIS
`We had the right strategy far the race and Mika was wall positioned to optimize this advantage until his accident which was caused by front right suspension failure. David drove a great race and hi6 overtaking maneuver to claim second was superb - combined with a well executed race strategy his result was well deserved.'

NORBERT HAUG
`Mika's strong performance was unrewarded when his accident prevented him from ~challenging for the lead. David drove a strong race and performed well overtaking three cars. Both drivers were scheduled to have their pit stop late which we are convinced was the right strategy. We are happy with the reliability of the engine following the teething problems we had to overcome after Barcelona testing and we are definitely heading in the right direction.'

World champion Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) got his FIA Formula One title defense off to a flying start in Melbourne, Australia. The German led from the start and was only headed briefly when the running order was shuffled by mid -race refueling stops. He fought off a close challenge from McLaren driver Mika Hakkinen, but was able to control the pace from the moment the Finn crashed out on lap 26. Michelin made a promising return to grand prix racing after a 16 -year absence, but the French firm's leading runners Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya were denied probable points finishes when their BMW Williams FW23s were thwarted by an accident and an engine problem respectively. The accident very sadly cost the life of an Australian Grand Prix marshal. Jaguar Racing rookie Luciano Burti was best Michelin finisher, in eighth place.

The winner backed off in the final laps and allowed Scot David Coulthard (McLaren) to close to within 1.7 seconds. Schumacher's team -mate Rubens Barrichello was third. Olivier Panis (BAR), Nick Heidfeld (Sauber) and Heinz -Harald Frentzen (Jordan) completed the top six.

In the early stages of the race Ralf Schumacher was Michelin's leading runner. The BMW WilliamsF1 Team driver made a good start to hold fourth place, but he ran onto the grass on the second lap and lost two places. He held sixth place until lap five, when BAR -Honda driver Jacques Villeneuve ran into him and forced both cars out of the race. Villeneuve's car took off, slammed into the safety fence and flipped over, with the Canadian driver escaping unhurt. Unfortunately, the incident resulted in the death of a marshal. Michelin would like to take this opportunity of extending its deepest condolences to the family and friends. The race was neutralized for 10 laps.

Montoya made a great start from 11th place on the grid, but ran wide at the first corner and was involved in another first -lap incident before his race settled down. He had worked his way up to sixth place before the scheduled pit stops and was actually holding third when an engine problem forced him out shortly before he was due to refuel.

Five of Michelin's seven other racers were classified as finishers. Jean Alesi (Prost -Acer) was 10th, Eddie Irvine (Jaguar Racing) 11th after a first -lap spin, Fernando Alonso (European Minardi) 12th and Giancarlo Fisichella (Benetton Renault Sport) 13th. Fisichella's team -mate Jenson Button stopped six laps from the end, but he was classified 14th.

Tarso Marques (European Minardi) and Gaston Mazzacane (Prost -Acer) both retired from the race within the first three laps.

Pierre Dupasquier (Motorsport Director):

"Our return has been about as good as we could have expected. Obviously, I'm not talking about the final result. We leave with not as many of our cars at the finish as we would have liked, but we have gathered enough data on this Melbourne track to help us for next year's event."

"We are very satisfied with the qualifying performance. We work on the principle that if one of our cars can put in a good time, this must prove that our tires are capable of doing it. Ralf Schumacher's (BMW WilliamsF1) time at less than 0.5 of a second from Barrichello shows that he is capable of fighting for a front row start."

"And Juan Pablo Montoya lapped in 1'29"6, the fourth fastest lap time and that on his 40th lap on those tires, so we seem to be quite constant as well! Now we'll see what happens in Malaysia."

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