The Australian Grand Prix has been won by Michael Schumacher but the event was overshadowed by the tragic death of a marshal who was hit by flying debris following a collision on lap 5 between Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher. At the end of the race there was a long delay before the drivers appeared on the podium. After the trophies had been presented there was none of the customary celebrations and it became obvious that something terrible must have happened. This was confirmed at the start of the post-race interviews when it effectively fell to the current world champion and race winner to make the announcement. Such are the responsibilities of leading sportsmen.
There would appear to have been three major accidents during the 3 days of the event. Friday's involving Michael Schumacher during practice and the one already referred to during the race seemed so violent that it was miraculous that both drivers escaped unscathed. In spite of recent rule changes the cars were lapping 3 to 4 seconds a lap faster than last year and it is not difficult to see why the F.I.A has to give so much time and thought to the subject of trying to keep the lid on this problem.
The Formula 1 authorities have worked extremely hard to improve the safety of the drivers over many years now . However the track-side marshals are contributing greatly to that issue as well and there well being and protection must be ensured as far as is practicable.
Michael Schumacher led from start to finish to take his fifth consecutive G.P. victory. Mika Hakkinen was able to match the German's pace early on until he went off the track following a suspension breakage. This left Rubens Barrichello in second place until he was passed as a result of a typically audacious overtaking manoeuvre by David Coulthard who then set off in hot pursuit of the leading Ferrari. However in spite of some spirited driving he was never able to actually threaten Michael's lead and so had to settle for second spot.
Notable debut performances included Olivier Panis driving now for B.A.R. who ended the race behind third placed driver Barrichello only to be docked 25 seconds for an earlier infringement of the rules which meant he was classified seventh. Also Juan Pablo Montoya had a very similar experience to Jenson Button's first G.P. start in the same race last year when he too suffered an engine failure whilst running in a potential point scoring position. ( " If that isn't an engine blowout then I'm a Chinaman " Murray Walker exclaimed, such was the drama of the event !)
However the greatest praise for a newcomer must go to the latest Finnish sensation Kimi Raikkonen driving for Peter Sauber's team. Serious doubts had been expressed as to whether someone with only 20 or so races in lowly Formulae events should be granted a superlicense but on this weekend's evidence those concerns were not justified in the case of Kimi. He managed an excellent and well deserved 6th place.
Race Results posted by
David Little
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