When writing a report like this, the Editor prefers us to give our personal impressions of the event, rather than a lap-by-lap account of the whole race. After the Australian GP, the first of the new season, mine was how flat the event was and how even more baffled I am by F1.

The pleasure felt at a new season getting underway was dampened by the irritating and perplexing Minardi saga. As the ’05 spec aero parts were sitting in the garage and the cars updated overnight, it now seems that all the hoo-ha over running to ’04 regulations on the grounds of cost was nothing more than a ploy to gain competitive advantage.

This was made worse by the attempt to brand Ferrari as the big bully who wouldn’t let poor li'l Minardi play. Fortunately, Red Bull Sporting Director, Christian Horner, said they would not agree to it either. That team’s performance, both on and off the track, was for me one of the highlights of the weekend.

Minardi’s time has passed; it’s time they went away. They are an ex-Formula One team. The sport would be much better served by teams running three cars, or a properly financed team running customer cars and their drivers being eligible to score points.

The next disappointment was the new aggregate qualifying system. Any attempt to shake things up and to introduce more uncertainty is laudable, but must reward skill and judgement, otherwise the grid positions may just as well be drawn out of a hat. Schuey was the main victim of the weather lottery in Q1, but I did enjoy the way he collected the car when it snapped sideways. Contrast this to BAR warning Sato to take it steady on his out lap, only for him to report it was too late as he’d already piled it into the wall! Q1 did reinforce just how bad F1 cars are when they are on the wrong tyres for the conditions. Everything dropped right for Fischella though he probably didn’t need the help anyway.

The huge differences in lap times recorded in Q1 made Q2 largely redundant, but the cumulative times in the second session also highlighted another impression of the weekend – trying to work out what the heck is going on was just about impossible. This wasn't helped by poor TV direction which had no feel for the action.

At the end of qualifying, Fisi was on pole for Renault, Rubens 11th, just ahead of Jordan rookie Narain Karthikeyan who looked and sounded terrified. It was probably the thought of the £5m. of folding-type money he is alleged to have paid for the drive. Schuey was 18th, just ahead of the hapless Sato and the luckless Massa, neither of whom recorded a time. MS seemed to shrug his shoulders at the whole thing, as if to say “If it’s this silly and beyond your control, then why bother”? With seven titles behind him, who can blame him? However, his frustration was to show in the race. For the record, Trulli (Toyota) was second, Webber (Williams) third, Villeneuve (Sauber) fourth, his bold gamble in choosing slicks in Q1 having paid off. The Red Bulls were fifth and sixth, Heidfeld (Williams) seventh and Button (BAR) eighth, with the McLarens completing the top ten.

Fisichella took a lead at the start of the race he was only to lose when making his pit stops. Rubens was 11th on the grid, moved up to 8th on the first lap and picked off those in front, as one-by-one they made their pits stops, until he took the lead briefly on lap 24 when Fisi pitted. He dropped to fourth when he took his first stop a lap later and finally secured second place as a result of his long first stint and driving very quickly of course, setting the third fastest lap of the race behind the two Renaults. A good, understated performance by Rubens, aided by the right strategy, which proves that the F2004M can’t be so bad, and a valuable 8 points for Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship.

Schuey set the fifth fastest race lap and this was the (on-track) highlight of a dismal weekend for him. Starting from the back, he got up to 15th, got stuck, and then leap-frogged most of those in front as they all came in for their pit stops, Schuey’s car having started brim-full of fuel. On lap 42 Heidfeld tried to pass him, Schuey edged him onto the grass, they collided and both retired. At least he starts with a fresh engine in Malaysia, as do both BARs, whose drivers were "retired" from the race whilst in non-scoring positions. Another great consequence of the new rules....

I was struck by how slow the cars seemed when viewed from their own in-car perspectives. The engines didn’t seem to accelerate as fast as before and the up-shifts seemed lazier, surely the result of the stronger and heavier mechanical bits and gentler treatment needed to extend engine life to two races. Also, the slightest sudden move seemed to result in the cars twitching – down to the concrete tyres, no doubt. At least under last year's regs a race was a flat-out blind between pit stops rather than a cruise to the finish. The cars need more mechanical grip, not less!

Of the rest, Alonso finished third after a poor qualifying and Renault realized the promise shown in winter testing. McLaren didn’t - for now. Williams did better than expected, but Red Bull was the revelation of the race, both cars finishing in the points, Coulthard an excellent fourth and Klien 7th. Much as it hurts to compliment Coolthud......

Let’s hope things get better in Malaysia. Mind you looking back at last year’s report, I said the same thing then.

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