Once again Felipe Massa looked reckless, but was it him or his car? "I had a great fight early in the race with Kimi, and at one stage I was so close behind him that I couldn't even see the brake marker boards, said the feisty Massa. "When I saw him brake I just braked a little later and managed to overtake him. My car was pretty good early on but then it picked up some understeer, which made it difficult to drive. That's what caused my spin in Turn Five on lap 19. I understeered wide and caught the curb, but fortunately I didn't hit anything. I was heading for a finish when I was forced to retire due to an engine problem."
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| Bookmakers are already putting the odds of Juan Pablo Montoya winning the drivers' championship at 8/1, from 3/1 before the Melbourne race. (Photo: Planet-F1) |
While non-Ferrari fans shouldn't lose hope just yet, being that last year the Scuderia won in Melbourne but lost out to BMW-Williams in Malaysia two weeks later, those putting money on the line are thinking otherwise. To betting-agent Ladbrokes, Ferrari has never looked more primed to win a Formula One world-title. They have cut the Scuderia's odds to 4-9 after dominating the pace at the Australian GP, and simultaneously modified BMW-Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya odds from 3/1 to 8/1 for the drivers' championship. While that might seem somewhat harsh, downing JPM's team-mate Ralf Schumacher from 3/1 to 10/1 is worse despite his slight margin in championship points.
As much as most F1 fans would like to see a changing of the guard for 2004's series champion, most are betting on Michael Schumacher to stroll away with his 7th title.
"A perfect race but a tough one in the early stages, when Rubens was pushing me hard," commented Ferrari's Michael Schumacher. "That made it exciting and I could not afford to make a mistake. The car was going well; it's a step forward and more consistent to drive. It is great to leave Australia with 2 more points than I had after the first three races last year. After the last test at Imola and knowing the characteristics of this track, I was sure we would be competitive but I did not expect such a performance."
Neither did we, Michael. Hopefully Malaysia will prove more competitive. Still, your best bet is to put your money on MS.