Unwrap the chequered flag

As the lights turn from red to green and the 20 cars lined up on the starting line of the Melbourne circuit take off at breakneck speed tomorrow morning the 2005 Formula 1 season gets going.

This is the 10th F1 race to be held in Melbourne's Albert Park, which has witnessed four full days of activities. In fact, the Australian leg is the only Grand Prix to commence racing on a Thursday, with Holden cars.

It will be also the first race for a number of drivers, notably the Jordan pair Tiago Monteiro and Narain Karthikeyan, respectively from Portugal and India. The Indian driver has been warned not to drive with his helmet sporting the national colours as this was unethical according to Indian custom!

Then there are also Minardi's Christijan Albers and Patrick Freisacher.

Mark Webber will be driving a true racing car - the Williams FW27 - certainly hoping to attain his first Grand Prix win somewhere along the season. The 2005 championship will see the return, on a full-time basis, of former world champion Jacques Villeneuve with Sauber.

David Coulthard moves to Red Bull, ex- Jaguar, to give a helping hand in putting the team in top gear.

The Melbourne race, which starts at 4 a.m., will be an ice breaker: new regulations, new team mates, new faces, a cocktail that wishes well for this new F1 season.

At the moment of going to print the issue of the Minardi team was still undecided.

Facts And Figures

The first Australian Grand Prix was held in Adelaide in 1985, the year that Alain Prost secured his first world title championship. In that race, 25 cars took part with Aryton Senna, in the Lotus Renault, in Pole position. However it was the Fin Keke Rosberg in the Williams Honda Turbo that crossed the finish line first.

Up to last year's race Michael Schumacher was the driver with the highest number of wins - five (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004). In terms of manufacturers, Ferrari has the highest total of wins - six (1987, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004).

In 1995 the venue moved from Adelaide to Melbourne. It was the year that Damon Hill registered his first Grand Prix championship but it will be remembered for Jacques Villeneuve's maiden race on a circuit that was new to all drivers. He lead nearly throughout, clearly demonstrating the makings of a world champion, but relinquishing his top placing due to engine failure, possibly the result of excessive oil consumption.

The Favourites

Who stands the chance? Eight drivers will qualify for points and the most probable are: Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault), Juan Pablo Montoya (McLaren), Jenson Button (Bar), Takuma Sato (Bar), Fernando Alonso (Renault), Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari), Jarno Trulli (Toyota) and Michael Schumacher (Ferrari).

Race Calendar

Foster's Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne - March 6

Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix, Kuala Lumpur - March 20

Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, Bahrain - April 3

Gran Premio Foster's di San Marino 2005, Imola - April 24

Gran Premio de Espana 2005, Catalunya - May 8

Grand Prix de Monaco 2005, Monte Carlo -May 22

Grand Prix of Europe, Nurburgring - May 29

Grand Prix du Canada 2005, Montreal - June 12

United States Grand Prix, Indianapolis - June 19

Grand Prix de France 2005, Magny-Cours - July 3

Foster's British Grand Prix, Silverstone - July 10

Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 2005,

Hockenheim - July 24

Magyar Nagydij 2005, Budapest - July 31

Turkish Grand Prix, Istanbul - August 21

Gran Premio Vodafone d'Italia 2005, Monza - September 4

Belgian Grand Prix, Spa - September 11

Grande Premio do Brasil 2005, Sao Paulo - September 25

Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka - October 9

Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai - October 16

The new rules

The start of the 2005 F1 season follows tough winter testing, underscored by a string of new regulations.

Qualifying will be split up in two, one on Saturday, with the minimum of fuel, and the other on Sunday morning when the car will be fuelled in race configuration. A total time from both qualifying laps will be taken to determine the grid position.

The engine will have to be used for at least two consecutive races. If an engine breaks during the race, the driver will move back 10 positions on his best grid time in the following race.

Aerodynamically the cars have lost an estimated 25 per cent in efficiency when compared to previous years. This will result in lack of traction when taking corners and the danger of excessive skidding if the car moves away from the desired racing line. This will be exacerbated by the fact that the same "unique" set of tyres will have to last for both qualifying sessions and the race itself.

The aerodynamic factor has brought higher front-end spoilers, the rear spoiler has been moved further towards the rear wheel and the lower under-tray at the back of the car has been raised, thus leaving a wider gap between the ground and the bottom or end deflectors of the car.