So, the first race has been contested and the Williams' cars looked every bit as competitive as expected. To see Hill in the front row and finishing 1st was no surprise, but the performance of Jacques Villeneuve showed us all that he's a force to be reckoned with. We have yet to see how he performs on tracks already familiar to other drivers and new only to him, but he showed he has the potential. I'm also very pleased to see Mika Häkkinen not only back, but back fighting with the best. The car wasn't as quick as perhaps the winter tests suggested (at least yet), but the performance of the Finn was superb, especially considering the fact that he hadn't completed more than 8 consecutive laps at a time during his very short winter test program with the new car. I'm looking forward to Brazil for a closer race, with the very promising Ferrari, McLaren and Benetton closing the gap to Williams.

Jarkko Heinonen
heinonen@bsd.rotol.fi
Finland

Many times we heard that the driver today is not so important as the machines and tires. Schumacher showed again how wrong this thinking is. He did this in a car still far from the Williams level (as Irvine finishing distance showed). During the Australian GP, his car went well -- Schumacher not only followed the same rhythm as the Williams', sometimes he even tried to overcome them (as Senna did in his last year at Mclaren with the weaker Ford engine). One may think how would it be last year if Schumacher was already driving at Ferrari with those wonderful 12 cylinders. For sure the team results would have be much better than they were.

Marko Petek
petek@voyager.com.br
Brazil

This first Grand Prix was a good one. Lots of new things to see and to enjoy. I think this race must have pleased every viewer. Even the ones that don't watch for the beauty of the sport had some entertainment when Brundle decided that it was time to show that his car can really fly... I take my hat off for Jacques Villeneuve. I have nominated him for the World Championship during the testing times on Estoril this winter. I am very glad to see that he can also keep up his performance under pressure in a real race. And presure there was. Damon didn't make it an easy trip for the Canadian who lead 52 of the 58 laps of the race. I was really dissapointed when I saw some white smoke coming out of the car around lap 44. Patrick Head of Williams noted it as well and he told Jacques to slow down a little for the good of the engine. Villeneuve answered it as a real racer would: No, I am not going to do that. Jacques has always said he valued W.C. points more than a place on the highest step of the podium...

Arne Hulstein
ghulst@mail.HZeeland.nl
Netherlands

I have just finished watching the repeat run of the Australian Grand Prix having got up at 3am to watch it live!!! and what a race to start the Formula One season off with, there was no let up in the scraping between Hill and Villeneuve from start to finish. the action was absolubly gripping especially with good old Murray Walker talking us through it. I must admit that having seen Villeneuve pull away in such style from the start, I thought Hill did not stand a chance. But, from the restart (after Martin Brundle had spun off) Hill went after Villeneuve much better than he had the first time round. After two very good pit stops from the Williams Team, the race was really on with Hill just nipping in front of Villeneuve. On exiting the pits, it looked like Hill had had it, but, with true British grit, or as luck would have it, there was some sort of oil compression problem with Villeneuve's car. Hill was able to take the lead, the chequered flag, and 10 points coming into the second race of the season at Brazil in a fortnight!

Chris Rose
crose@mistral.co.uk
U.K.

I don't beleive Villeneuve was blocking Hill after his slide on the grass. He had no reason to "give" the line to Hill, especially if it's for first place. The comment that Villeneuve is human after all (because he slid on the grass) shows that indeed he can make mistakes. However, I know very few drivers who can slide an F1 car on the grass while cornering and not only regain control without stopping, but remain in the lead. I guess I am biased for Jacques being Canadian myself, but I have cheered for Hill for a long time and have been dissapointed and discouraged by his mistakes on more than one occasion. For that matter, he was lucky that Brundle crashed because after that first start, he was behind the two Ferraris and would have had a hell of a time getting past Schumi. I believe this season will see a new 24 year old champion emerging. The last thing Hill and his fans should do is underestimate Villeneuve's talent (like the Americans did in IndyCar)...

Mario Gingras
mgingras@dmcs.dnd.ca
Canada

Despite the gap between Hill and Irvine, I have to say that I am very pleased with the performance of the Ferrari team. That is, except in the pits. The pit stops will now take much more of the limelight than in the past and will provide another point of strength/weakness on the part of the teams. Any pit stop that lasts more than 11 seconds is inexcusable. Aside from adjustments to mechanicals or air effects, the F310 will no doubt become more competitive as the tour continues.

Randall Guyton
RGuyton@pure.com
U.S.A.