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Sunday, March 4 Ferrari jumps out of the gates quickly Reuters MELBOURNE, Australia -- Team-by-team analysis of Sunday's Australian Grand Prix: Ferrari (Michael Schumacher 1, Rubens Barrichello 3) Schumacher led from the start and took his 45th career victory by 1.7 seconds from McLaren's David Coulthard. It was the world champion's fifth victory in a row. Brazilian Barrichello dropped to fifth at the start, but then climbed back to second. He was passed by Coulthard on lap 34 and finished third. McLaren (David Coulthard 2, Mika Hakkinen did not finish) Briton Coulthard worked up from sixth place and made a clean pass on Barrichello to take second on lap 34. Finland's Hakkinen passed Barrichello off the line to move into second place but suffered a front-right suspension failure on lap 26. The McLaren left the track at turn 13 and hit the tyre barriers hard, leaving Hakkinen with light concussion. BAR (Olivier Panis seventh, Jacques Villeneuve crashed) Frenchman Panis moved through the field and finished fourth in his first race for BAR. But he was then relegated to seventh when he was given a 25 second penalty for overtaking illegally under a yellow flag. Villeneuve's race ended with the accident that killed a marshal on lap 5. He hit the back of Ralf Schumacher's Williams and his car flew into the air, landing in the gravel trap. Sauber (Nick Heidfeld fourth, Kimi Raikkonen sixth) German Heidfeld had a hard fight with compatriot Heinz-Harald Frentzen at the end of the race but held on to take his first world championship points. He was then moved further up the standings four hours after the end of the race when Panis was penalised. Finn Kimi Raikkonen completed his 24th single seater car race in impressive form, and scored a point on his Formula One debut after Panis was relegated. Jordan (Heinz-Harald Frentzen fifth, Jarno Trulli retired) Frentzen ran third at the start but spun into the gravel trap when Barrichello sent him off the track. He recovered quickly and claimed two points. Italian Trulli was fourth until a misfiring Honda engine dropped him down the order and he retired on lap 39. Jaguar (Luciano Burti eighth, Eddie Irvine 11th) Brazilian Burti was the highest Michelin finisher after starting 21st on the grid. Briton Eddie Irvine went off at turn two on the first lap after starting in the spare car due to a power steering failure. He ended up at the back of the field. He steadily moved up the field, but a problem sent him into the pits. Arrows (Jos Verstappen 10th, Enrique Bernoldi retired) Verstappen started in 15th and ran a steady race without incident before being given a 25 second penalty with Panis. Brazilian Bernoldi struggled all weekend and a lack of time in practice left him with an under-developed car set-up. He hit a wall on lap two and the damage ended his race. Prost (Jean Alesi ninth, Gaston Mazzacane retired) Alesi never found the pace he had expected from his car after successful practice sessions and finished one lap behind the leaders. Argentie Mazzacane started from the penultimate row of the grid and failed to complete a lap and retired his car with concern over a loose brake pedal. Minardi (Fernando Alonso 12th, Tarso Marques retired) Spaniard Alonso ran towards the rear of the field, but delighted his small team by finishing ahead of the Benettons of Giancarlo Fisichella and Jenson Button. Brazilian Marques raced despite failing to reach the qualifying time required to make it onto the grid. He retired on lap three with an electrical problem. Benetton (Giancarlo Fisichella 13th, Jenson Button 14th) Italian Fisichella struggled with the car and finished the race two laps behind the leaders: "The car was running well and it felt good but then it developed a problem that we are looking into." Button was issued a 10 second stop-go penalty and dropped back. He eventually retired four laps from the end but was classified 14th and last. Williams (Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher retired) Colombian Montoya ran well and was in the points when he suffered an engine failure on lap 40: "The engine blew up without giving me any warning." Schumacher was involved in the fatal fifth-lap crash when Jacques Villeneuve hit the rear of his Williams. He spun into the gravel trap to end his race.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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