It wasn't quite the start to the season that we wanted or expected. But you cannot deny that it was lively. We've had politics, changeable weather, marvellous surprises - everything - down here in Oz, and of course, the locals have lapped it all up.

There was no doubt that the rostrum was pretty much the way we expected it, if only because all the right teams were there: Ferrari, McLaren and Williams. You could pretty much predict that two out of three of them would be there and in the event, that's the way it turned out. But the rest? Er, not quite!

But let's talk about those top three teams first of all. Ferrari had been on top all weekend, and when Michael overtook Juan Pablo and pulled away, there was no doubting that his was surely a car that was supreme. Incidentally, you should remember that overtaking manoeuvre, because the way it was planned and executed was just superb, in my mind. Michael had overtaken Juan Pablo once, when the first safety car period ended, then Juan Pablo overtook him going down into the first corner when the second safety car period ended.

There then followed a bit of cat-and-mouse, with Michael worrying the Colombian but working out how he was going to overtake. And then he pounced: great stuff, lining up the car to take full advantage as Juan Pablo exited turn two. Read about it in the press conference transcript. It was classic and classy. That's why the man gets paid mega-bucks.

Michael's comments about tyres were interesting too. It was taking him a while for the tyres to get up to temperature. The Michelins were the other way around, he reckoned. Neither of the tyre companies had quite been expecting these low temperatures and I'm sure they hope that they won't be caught out this way again.

As for McLaren, Coulthard had a pretty miserable race, having to stay out and drive a car that was clearly failing. Raikkonen generally kept his nose clean again, even if he did go off at the first corner and suffer a long pit stop. Apparently there were stones in the cockpit which made things uncomfortable for Kimi, but it was worth clearing them away - even if the rumour was that it was Mika Hakkinen's wallet, which was why the mechanics were delving deep to find the reason for discomfort!

Talking of the retired World Champ, he was at home at Monaco sending messages to all kinds of friends at Melbourne. Apparently he didn't think much of the coverage and Finnish commentary, and said that if the new Ferrari was even quicker than the old, then he was right to retire. There are rumours that he's put on a couple of kilos as well.

Raikkonen, meanwhile, turned out to be an admirable replacement. He really did a good job, kept up the pressure, battled with the best of them, and came home with four points. The car held together, he didn't work it too hard, and I think he could well be a thorn in the side of his teammate before long.

The big news, of course, was that first lap accident. Two things: should the race have been stopped afterwards? And whose fault was it? Well, to answer the second question first, the stewards decided that it was 'a racing incident.' That's generous. We reckon that Rubens moved three times, and even that's one too many times.

Looking at it from the front, we reckon he started, moved slightly to the left (his right) and then left again to block Ralf. Then he moved right where he blocked Ralf again, which is where the accident occurred. However, Rubens apparently managed to convince the stewards that the move right was to take his racing line, not to block Ralf. So basically he got away with three moves - when only one is allowed. Now I didn't talk to the stewards, but apparently their defence was also that the only penalty was a fine. I hope that they are that generous to lesser mortals from the back of the grid should they make a move or two in the wrong direction.

As for the demand that the race be restarted, Ralf explained that "Charlie Whiting took the right decision by not stopping the race, as he had made it very clear to us that he would not stop a race unless it was for safety reasons and this wasn't the case." Formula One is sometimes accused of being a show, that everything is done for TV. You could say that the TV spectacle would have been greater if they had stopped the race and restarted with a full grid, but they can't be accused of bowing to that viewpoint.

Frankly, good for Formula One. That's the way it should be. That's the declared policy of Formula One, and Charlie stuck by it. He did the right thing in my book. Sorry you didn't see more cars but you will. Actually, it was one of those Grands Prix that wasn't really conventional. We had these really mixed weather conditions throughout the weekend, although mercifully the race itself was dry. Early in the season, we can expect to have retirements and generally speaking, a somewhat surprising result, dry conditions or not. We don't really need the added factor of variable weather conditions. We can keep those for mid-summer, when the convention needs shaking up.

But what results we had. Jaguar, with their poor car, scored three points, and two cars finished. Similarly, Mark Webber and Minardi scored a magnificent fifth place for Paul Stoddart, who was just drunk on the mere thought of it afterwards. Toyota scored a point in their first ever race. Good for them, I say. And Alex Yoong, who has got to find some speed to survive, at least finished the race, and can say that, if he never overtakes another car (and he probably won't) that he overtook the (admittedly ailing) McLaren of David Coulthard.

It's like that at this time of the season, and those who are on the case get to score points. It will be somewhat unconventional in Malaysia (temperatures of 30 degrees or more) and Brazil (the bumps). But this is what we love, this is what makes Formula One. We don't want the predictable, we need the variety, we need surprises, and Formula One always delivers. Good on yer, Aussie. See you next year for more surprises.

Bob Constanduros