David Coulthard let Mika Hakkinen pass to take the win of the Melbourne Grand Prix yesterday and now the race officials have asked the FIA have to investigate whether this should be allowed.

Race chairman Ron Walker said: "It's not the right of team owners to decide who's going to win."

Coulthard stated: "We are not here to think about entertainment. We are here to score points for the team. I don't see what is so difficult about it. If you make an arrangement with someone then you stick by it."

Team-boss Ron Dennis declared that the same tactics will be used in Brazil, after that race it will the normal procedure. He stated: "The drivers drove for the team in Melbourne. It is an agreement for the first two races after Brazil they can go hammer and tongs at each other."

He also stated that Coulthard will get his race win bonus.

Eddie Jordan also had some problems with the agreement: "It is not what the punters have paid to come and see. A lot of people came to see a race, a genuine sporting contest, but that is not what they got. You have to question the ethics of it all."

It looked clear yesterday that the McLaren team are out in front by miles, but both rivals Ferrari and Williams say they can catch up.

"We've seen it all before, haven't we? One team comes out and starts well and dominates, but it is another matter to keep it going. By mid-season, they will be running out of steam and it could be a completely different story. There is no doubt that they have done a very impressive job in the design of their new car and in preparing for the season. But we will all be doing our utmost now to catch them," Frank Williams stated.

Eddie Irvine said: "I think our car is faster than the Williams and that we can beat them this year. And I think the gap to McLaren is nothing like as big as it looked in this race. We need to improve our driveability a bit with the engine and then I think we will be challenging them."

Ron Dennis reacted to all this by saying: "There are some giants out there and normally when you poke the giants in the eye you tend to get their attention. We are under no illusions. There are some great racing teams lined up against us - Williams and Ferrari for example - and they are not going to stand still."

Patrick Head, of the Williams team, reacted to the claim that McLaren our using a questionable high tech braking system: "We are all doing it, we certainly are."

The fear is, this year, that a lot of drivers have to much tyre wear so that the grooves are gone and faster slick remain which could result in a disqualification after the race, if the FIA had such a rule. David Richards of Benetton stated: "I think everyone had great fears at the end of last season that we might have a policeman at the finish line who was measuring the tires and taking people off the podium. Thankfully that is not going to be the case."

Goodyear racing director Perry Bell said: "There is all this talk about performance and I think what you will find is that as the fuel load burns off, the cars go faster. The tires are going to wear but I think their performance remains pretty constant which means, as the fuel load drops, the times decrease. But you reach a point where you wear the tire to a point where there is very little rubber remaining. It then becomes difficult to hold the heat in it, and therefore you lose grip. We feel that to be able to take a tire, wear it to a slick in a few laps and then maintain that level of the performance - with it not wearing any more - is not really possible."

Max Mosley said: "We are told by both tire companies, and all the evidence from testing backs this up, that if grooves are worn away, the grip of the tire will be still less than with the grooves. Therefore we would not need to inflict disqualification. But if we find that is not the case, then we will simply bring in a rule which says that if there are no grooves at the end of a race, then you're out."

It was reported last year that champagne maker Moet-Chandon would not renew there Formula One contract because they did not like seeing there product sprayed all over the place after the race. But when Mika Hakkinen, David Coulthard and Heinz-Harald Frentzen celebrated their victory it was clear that a deal has been made after all.

Honda have announced today that they will return to Formula One with there own engine, chassis and management. "It was the strong determination of our young engineers that prompted Honda to start its serious consideration of returning to F1 racing," said Nobuhiko Kawamoto - Honda president and chief executive officer. He also added: "In reaching our 50th anniversary this year, we consider this undertaking a new challenge for Honda's next generation."

"The team structure, management and actual timing of the return to racing have still to be fixed," a spokesman said. But they believe it will be in 2000 or 2001. He also added: "We decided to return to Formula One by not only making engines, but also by developing and making car chassis and handling the management of our own racing team."