The chaos at the start of the Australian Grand Prix last Sunday cleared the way for those who are less used to fighting for the point-scoring positions to see their wishes granted sooner that they would have dreamed of. Karl Ludvigsen talks about those who in Melbourne finished higher than the odds said they would

The saying tells us how fruitless it can be to wish for things far beyond our grasp: "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride." In Melbourne, the beggars rode! All their wishes became reality in one extraordinary race.

Let's start from the back. Working hard - and with good reason - to dampen premature speculation, Toyota said it would be happy to qualify in Melbourne and then to finish the race, in any position. Before the race Allan McNish pointed out that this was traditionally a race of high attrition and that any finishers would stand a chance of being placed fairly high up. We can be certain that Toyota didn't envision finishing in the points in its first race, even though its qualifying performances were more than commendable for a new team.

It was entirely within the realm of probability that Toyota could have gone though its entire 2002 season without scoring points. The strength of the top three or four teams is such that the lesser squads have meager points pickings. Had that happened it would have placed this new and untried team under tremendous pressure. To have broken through to a single vital point in the year's first race is all that they could have wished for. Toyota as a company is prudent and patient in achieving its goals, but its motor-sporting patience is not infinite as it showed when it gave up on winning Le Mans. Now that initial pressure is off. But a few red-and-white hearts certainly skipped a beat when Mika Salo had his semi-spin. His finishing position was saved by the anti-stall facility that automatically declutches when a car spins.

And what can you say about Mark Webber, Paul Stoddart, Asiatech and European Minardi? Only the much-missed (by me) Jos Verstappen managed to earn a single point for Asiatech's engines last year, and already this year they have two. Asiatech deserve great credit for powering both Minardis to the finish in Australia. As for Webber, I've been a fan since he drove the AMG-built CLK Mercedes-Benz racers in 1998. His Formula Three successes emboldened Aussie Webber to ask Mercedes's Norbert Haug for a test drive, which he granted. Said AMG's Hans-Werner Aufrecht: "We invited him for a test, and he drove very well. He is fast, and he didn't make any mistakes. Mark has a nice personality too, so we decided to make him a member of our team." He certainly didn't make any mistakes on Sunday! I forecast a bright future for this very able racer.

The race organizers put Stoddart and Webber on the podium, and how could they not? It was a phenomenal achievement for this Anglo-Italian team owned by an Australian to finish fifth and collect two points in the first race of the year. Their wishes came true! Paul Stoddart was much in the news over the weekend as vigorously opposing the deal that saw certain parts of the Prost team - apparently including its ticket to ride in Formula One - picked up by a financial bottom-feeder. Bumptious newcomer to the Grand Prix wars though he may be, Stoddart's heart seems to be in the right place. Let's hope he gets some support from his peers up the pitlane in his efforts to create a level playing field for transactions that affect team values.

For Jaguar and Eddie Irvine, finishing fourth was as good as a win. No beggars had a better ride than Jaguar! They earned a good finish with their appalling pre-season and miserable qualifying form. I'd like to be able to say that nasty Niki Lauda was wrong in accepting the resignation of Steve Nichols, but it seems that the non-raceworthy condition of the R3 at birth was down to Steve. "For example," said Lauda, "it took us nearly four weeks to replace the suspension uprights and other major components on the car - not the sort of work that can be achieved overnight. Our key problem right from day one has been a lack of aerodynamic downforce and unless the car is mechanically sound, you cannot even begin taking corrective measures on the aero package." That's for sure, and the buck on mechanical soundness stops with the technical director.

"Gunther had beginner's luck today," said Eddie Irvine after the race. He was referring to Gunther Steiner, the top rallying engineer who has stepped into the hot seat at Jaguar to steer the team's technical efforts in the right direction. It won't be easy. Much is being made of the fact that Jaguar's UK-based wind tunnel will be coming on stream soon, but it can take a year to calibrate a tunnel properly. Aerodynamicist Mark Handford will be happy to have a tunnel next door, but he can't be expected to get it singing and dancing for some months yet. In the meantime, the whole team can breathe a sigh of relief that some points are on the board.

How about Kimi! Any thought of a podium before the race must have seemed remote, but he was obviously wishing very intensely! I've commented before on the dry earnestness of this precocious Finn. He put this quality to good use in driving a determined race, recovering from an early stop that saw his pit crew scooping crash debris out of his seat. And how wonderful it was to see his smile in the press conference! His grin lit up the room. Raikkonen had his first taste of the podium, and found it much to his liking. He'll be there a lot more this year.

As for the top two, the wishes that were granted were ours. We all wanted to see Schumacher the elder and Juan Pablo Montoya in a mano a mano battle, and we got it! Their early-lap duel was enthralling. Both admitted later that their scrap was resolved not by the drivers but by their tyres, but it was splendid while it lasted. We know that tyres will be playing a big part in this season's results, so the battles between teammates on the same tyres will take on added significance. In the meantime Bridgestone had its wishes granted in Australia: one single solitary car on their tyres finishing ahead of all the rest on Michelins!

One last word on Melbourne: the good guys finished well. The first-corner crash knocked out many of the field's grumblers and back-biters, and the race took out the rest. All those who placed in the points are among Formula One's good guys - both the drivers and their teams. You wouldn't begrudge a single one of them the success that fell into their laps in this bizarre race. Well, I wouldn't anyway!