Australian F1 Grand Prix

Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari, second place: "I enjoyed every second of the race. The other teams have obviously made a step forward, but I must congratulate our team on producing a good car and the tyres held on very well - they could have done another race. I had a great start and passed Button immediately. Then I had a fantastic first and second corner and I was able to pass Villeneuve which I knew was essential. After fifteen laps, my rear brakes were locking really badly, the balance all went to the rear and it was like driving a kart. In the final stages, I was still pushing Fisichella because I had Alonso behind me, but I had to be careful as I was trying to conserve the engine, as we have to think about Malaysia and its high temperatures. I had a few problems with traffic. There are some new guys out there who were occasionally in the way, so I guess we need to give them time to get the F1 habit. We proved today that this car is still competitive, even though the new one will be faster." Ross Brawn, Technical Director, Ferrari: "We are reasonably happy, considering we came here with the old car. To finish second after such a dreadful qualifying is not bad. Both guys drove a great race. Rubens was exceptional, as he had a problem with the car from the early stages, but he was able to manage it very well. Michael had a race from the back of the grid and it was always going to be difficult with such a high number of finishers. It's a great shame he got taken out, because a couple of points from Michael would have been a nice bonus. We know we have the new car coming and further development on tyres, which were very good today. Second place with the old car cannot be bad and is a good incentive for all of us."

Jean Todt, Managing Director, Ferrari F1 : "The first weekend of the season ends with mixed emotions. On the one hand, satisfaction with Rubens's second place after he drove a great race. Given how things went into qualifying, it was quite a long call to expect a podium finish. On the other hand, there is disappointment for Michael, forced to retire when he was in the points, following a collision with Heidfeld's Williams. It is a shame, because Michael had staged a good climb up the order and could have brought home some valuable points. We proved we were competitive in the race and to achieve that with the F2004 M is encouraging for the future. However, we know that, along with Bridgestone, we have a lot of work to do to reach the level of performance we are aiming for. I want to congratulate Giancarlo Fisichella who drove a splendid race to take his second Grand Prix win. Today's result confirms our prediction that it will be a very very closely contested championship."

Fernando Alonso, third place: "I didn't think I could finish on the podium today, but it was a great feeling to be up there! I was lucky during the race to have some laps without traffic at the end of each stint, which meant I could push really hard to gain positions. We are pleased to have a car like the R25, because as today showed, it is quick enough on the straights and in the corners to overtake some of our rivals on track. Thank-you to Michelin as well: during this race, I had to attack for every one of the 57 laps, and the tyres didn't drop off in performance at all. The only thing I would have changed this weekend was the weather yesterday afternoon!"

David Coulthard, Red Bull (4th): "I made a good start and managed to get into third place. I struggled a bit initially with a heavy fuel load, then had lots of trouble with traffic and lost chunks of time. I hit a Minardi at one point. A podium finish was achievable today - that would have been a dream start for Red Bull and at one stage I was beginning to dream a little, but I can't complain about fourth place. It is much more than we expected. With Christian scoring points as well, it is a fantastic start for Red Bull Racing."

Mark Webber, Williams (5th): "Coming 5th is not a bad start at all, but I think that we actually had an opportunity for a better result today. I lost one position to Coulthard at the first corner, when I was looking after my tyres and trying not to lock my wheels. After that I was stuck behind him, which was a bit frustrating. We have put the first race behind us and we have learned a lot about the car and the tyres. The car has proved to be reliable and this is very important"

Juan Pablo Montoya, McLaren (6th): "I'm pleased that we seem to have the speed with the MP4-20 package, and I would have been able to finish higher up had things gone our way. I lost some valuable time during my second stint as I was pushing really hard on the in-lap and got the rear tyre on the grass at Turn Eight. Later on there was a misunderstanding with one of the Jordans which meant I was pushed off the track. Towards the end I slowed down to conserve the package for Malaysia. After the race I have been told that I also had lost one of my deflectors which obviously affected the overall speed and the handling of my car."

Christian Klien, Red Bull (7th): "My start was OK, although I lost one position to Nick Heidfeld's Williams. Then I overtook Villeneuve and got back to sixth position, after which the whole race was pretty good. The car was consistent and the pit stops were OK, so it was a very positive race for us all. It is great that we have scored some points in our first race this season."

Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren (8th): "The result might not show this but we have the pace to challenge for victories, which is great. However today my race was really over when I stalled the car at the start and had to begin my race from the pitlane. In the opening stages I was stuck behind Michael Schumacher which lost me some time, but when I got past him in the first round of pitstops I was able to pick up speed again. However my deflector came off and went underneath the car. The team removed it during my scheduled second pitstop but the loss obviously affected the handling of my car in the closing stages. I really look forward to Malaysia where hopefully we should be able to get the result we believe we are capable of and have some more consistent weather."

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