Results from the 2005 Australian Grand Prix
Many were watching to see how drivers and teams fared under the new rules and regulations imposed by FIA for this season. Some of the criticisms include: slower cars, over cautious drivers, less action and risk taking. But this was all disproved in the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne.
Giancarlo Fisichella sailed into first place, his second career Grand Prix win, with a time of 1:24:17.336, this was only slight slower than Michael Schumacher's winning time last year of 1:24:15.757. This was a great coup for team Renault. Local crowds were pleased, as home favorite, Mark Webber managed to secure four points for his new Williams-BMW team, by coming in 5th place. Race favorite Michael Schumacher had to retire, but his teammate Rubens Barrichello came in a respectable 2nd place to hold Ferrari's position. Third place went to Fernando Alonso for Renault, who also took the fastest lap in the race.
Qualifying put Fisichella in pole position, Jarno Trulli in second and Mark Webber in third position. Fisichella led the pack right out of the grid, with Trulli following behind, but soon the pack had spread out, with David Coulthard moving up quickly in his new Red Bull Racing car. The big disappointment was Michael Schumacher's altercation with Nick Heidfeld in lap 43 that forced both drivers to retire. Schuhmacher had suffered during the qualifying session, with heavy rain setting in, putting him 18th on the grid.
The big surprise of the race was the Red Bull Racing team, finishing in 4th and 7th places. Many were doubtful that David Coulthard still had a competitive edge in F1 racing, but his impressive driving and 4th place finish has proved his critics wrong. His teammate, Christian Klien did well to finish 7th as well. This gives the Red Bull Racing team 7 points to the start the season with.
Rookie drivers Narain Karthikeyan and Tiago Monteiro drove well. Karthikeyan finished the highest among the rookies in 15th place, followed by teammate Monteiro in 16th place. Monteiro managed to finished the race, even after having spun off the track early on in the race.
Full race result from Melbourne (2005)
- Giancarlo Fisichella - Renault 1:24:17.336
- Rubens Barrichello - Ferrari +5.5s
- Fernando Alonso - Renault +6.1s
- David Coulthard - Red Bull Racing +16.1s
- Mark Webber - Williams BMW +16.9s
- Juan Pablo Montoya - McLaren-Mercedes +35.0s
- Christian Klien - Red Bull Racing +38.9s
- Kimi Raikkonen - McLaren-Mercedes +39.6s
- Jarno Trulli - Toyota +63.1s
- Felipe Massa - Sauber-Petronas +64.3s
- Jenson Button - BAR Honda +1 lap
- Ralf Schumacher - Toyota +1 lap
- Jacques Villeneuve - Sauber-Petronas +1 lap
- Takuma Sato - BAR-Honda +2 laps
- Narain Karthikeyan - Jordan-Honda +2 laps
- Tiago Monteiro - Jordan-Honda +2 laps
- Patrick Friesacher - Minardi-Cosworth +4 laps