Melbourne, Mar 08: Schumacher's younger brother Ralf was fourth for Williams, ahead of Colombian team mate Juan Pablo Montoya and Briton Jenson Button in a BAR. Italian Jarno Trulli, in a Renault, and last year's winner David Coulthard, in a McLaren, collected the remaining points. Both were lapped by Schumacher in a race that suggested an ominous return to the Ferrari dominance of 2002, which led to sweeping rule changes and resulted in one of the closest seasons in recent years in 2003. Schumacher rejected the suggestion, however: "I think if we had a clear run last year, we would have seen a similar situation," he said.
McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, last year's overall runner-up and a championship favourite, made only a brief appearance before joining the spectators as the season's first retirement.

The Finn was sluggish off the grid and skidded off at turn three after nine laps while running 12th.


While a marshal sprayed foam over the back of his smouldering car, Schumacher and Barrichello covered the race without missing a beat.


The two red cars made a smooth getaway, leaving Alonso to provide the thrills behind them as Renault picked up the mantle of Ferrari chasers from Williams and McLaren.


The Spaniard threw his car round the outside of Montoya, putting two wheels on the grass and outbraking the Colombian as he swept through from fifth on the grid to third.


"I took Jenson and Montoya and then it was an easy race," said Alonso.


Montoya was pushed back from third to seventh, triggering an aggressive fightback from the Colombian whose determination showed as he forced Button on the runoff on lap 39 as he outbraked the Briton.


Jordan driver Nick Heidfeld of Germany retired after completing 43 laps when he had a clutch problem that caused him to hit two of his mechanics during a pit stop. The two crew suffered bruising but were not seriously hurt.


Provisional results from Sunday's Australian Formula One Grand Prix: Race distance: 58 laps, 307.574 kms: 1. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Ferrari 1 hour 24 minutes 15.757 seconds (average speed 219.010 kph) 2. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Ferrari 1:24:29.362 3. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 1:24:50.430 4. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Williams 1:25:16.180 5. Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia) Williams 1:25:24.293 6. Jenson Button (Britain) BAR 1:25:26.355 7. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Renault 1 lap behind 8. David Coulthard (Britain) McLaren 1 lap 9. Takuma Sato (Japan) BAR 1 lap 10. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Sauber 1 lap 11. Christian Klien (Austria) Jaguar 2 laps 12. Cristiano Da Matta (Brazil) Toyota 2 laps 13. Olivier Panis (France) Toyota 2 laps 14. Giorgio Pantano (Italy) Jordan 3 laps Not classified: Felipe Massa (Brazil) Sauber completed 44 laps Nick Heidfeld (Germany) Jordan 43 laps Gianmaria Bruni (Italy) Minardi 43 laps Mark Webber (Australia) Jaguar 29 laps Zsolt Baumgartner (Hungary) Minardi 13 laps Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) McLaren 9 laps


Fastest lap: Schumacher, 1:24.125, lap 29


Standings: Drivers: 1. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Ferrari 10 points 2. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Ferrari 8 3. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 6 4. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Williams 5 5. Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia) Williams 4 6. Jenson Button (Britain) BAR 3 7. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Renault 2 8. David Coulthard (Britain) McLaren 1


Constructors: 1. Ferrari 18 points 2. Williams 9 3. Renault 8 4. BAR 3 5. McLaren 1


Bureau Report