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The F1 Circus Lands in Melbourne with a Qualifying Hodge-Podge

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The land down under hosts the third Grand Prix of the season in the lovely city of Melbourne.  I can say that from experience having had the pleasure of visiting the city some years ago.  The Albert Park Circuit is also a fun one to watch, thought I've actually not been there myself during the F1 weekend.   

Australia is usually where the season kicks off but this year the Commonwealth Games forced the organizers to move the race to a point slightly later in the year.  No matter, Merlbourne is always a fun one to watch.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Jacques Villeneuve's dramatic F1 debut where he took pole position in his very first race at the then season-opening Australian Grand Prix at this same race track.  He would have won the race too had it not been for an oil leak that forced him to let his then team-mate Damon Hill pass forcing Jacques to finish second.  This year Jacques also qualified well for BMW Sauber by making it to the third session and setting the 9th best time.  The only downside is that he had an engine change earlier in the weekend which means he starts 19th.

Qualifying was exciting and challenging, or so it appears.  There was a red flag in each of the two first sessions effectively making qualifying a 5 session event instead of 3.  A lot of drivers seemed to get caught by the tighter quarters of a street circuit after the wide open spaces of Bahrain and Sepang, with Felipe Massa destroying his Ferrari after a spin across the gravel trap.  In fact, neither of the Ferraris made it to the final session prompting many to wonder if this is a ploy by Ross Brawn, the master strategist, or simply Ferrari's lack of speed.  Only tomorow will tell.

The surprise of qualifying was Jenson Button who managed to place his Honda on pole position displacing the Renault team for the first time this year.  Honda was boasting before qualifying started that this will be the weekend they get pole position and their first race win.  Jenson got the pole position and we'll see if he can finally manage to win a race.  Rubens, on the other hand, did not fare as well and is starting 16th (as of now - things could change).

The results of qualifying are:

P. No Driver Team - Engine Tyres Times
1. 12 BUTTON Honda M 1'25"229
2. 2 FISICHELLA Renault M 1'25"635
3. 1 ALONSO Renault M 1'25"778
4. 3 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'25"822
5. 4 MONTOYA McLaren Mercedes M 1'25"946
6. 7 R.SCHUMACHER Toyota B 1'26"612
7. 9 WEBBER Williams Cosworth B 1'26"937
8. 16 HEIDFELD BMW Sauber M 1'27"579
9. 17 VILLENEUVE BMW Sauber M 1'29"239
10. 8 TRULLI Toyota B 1'26"327      

11. 5 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'26"718
12. 14 COULTHARD RedBull Ferrari M 1'27"023
13. 20 LIUZZI Toro Rosso Cosw. M 1'27"219
14. 15 KLIEN RedBull Ferrari M 1'27"591
15. 10 ROSBERG Williams Cosworth B 1'29"442
16. 6 MASSA Ferrari B                  

17. 11 BARRICHELLO Honda M 1'29"943
18. 19 ALBERS Midland Toyota B 1'30"226
19. 21 SPEED Toro Rosso Cosw. M 1'30"426
20. 18 MONTEIRO Midland Toyota B 1'30"709
21. 22 SATO S. Aguri F1 Honda B 1'32"279
22. 23 IDE S. Aguri F1 Honda B 1'36"164

The actual starting grid for the race currently stands at:

 P. No Driver Team - Engine
1. 12 BUTTON Honda
2. 2 FISICHELLA Renault
3. 1 ALONSO Renault
4. 3 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes
5. 4 MONTOYA McLaren Mercedes
6. 7 R.SCHUMACHER Toyota
7. 9 WEBBER Williams Cosworth
8. 16 HEIDFELD BMW Sauber
9. 8 TRULLI Toyota
10. 5 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari
11. 14 COULTHARD RedBull Ferrari
12. 20 LIUZZI Toro Rosso Cosw.
13. 15 KLIEN RedBull Ferrari
14. 10 ROSBERG Williams Cosworth
15. 6 MASSA Ferrari
16. 11 BARRICHELLO Honda
17. 19 ALBERS Midland Toyota
18. 21 SPEED Toro Rosso Cosw.
19. 17 VILLENEUVE BMW Sauber
20. 18 MONTEIRO Midland Toyota
21. 22 SATO S. Aguri F1 Honda
22. 23 IDE S. Aguri F1 Honda

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    April 02, 2006
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