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| Minardi raced with F2005 cars in the end |
| Minardi fuelled the controversy at Melbourne. Paul Stoddart wanted to compete with last year�s cars, claiming that his team had not had time to adapt to the new rules. Ferrari was against this and this outraged the Minardi boss who then decided to even appeal to the normal justice system (the state of Victoria � where Albert Park is). In the end the FIA intervened and Stoddart saw the light. After their absence from training on the Friday the two Minardis were adapted to the new rules for the Saturday and so they were in the GP. |
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| McLaren and BAR Honda the disappointments |
| McLaren Mercedes and BAR Honda were the big disappointments in the first GP this season. The Anglo-German squad was not at the level expected by Kimi R�ikk�nen who stalled his car at the start and then only was able to climb back up to 8th place, whilst Juan Pablo Montoya wore out his brakes and finished sixth. It was worse for BAR Honda, since Jenson Button and Takuma Sato were way back in 13th and 16th places respectively, far off the leading cars. |
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| Almost a million viewers followed the Australian GP |
| Practically a million spectators (to be exact 948 000) followed the Australian GP on the TV in Spain. The figure achieved by Telecinco (64% share) is most pleasing as the race began at 4am. A few hours later the recorded coverage attracted about two million Formula 1 fans. The documentary �La otra cara del piloto� was seen by one million. |
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| Ecclestone undermines the GPWC |
| On the eve of the Australian GP Bernie Ecclestone told the local press that "two teams" have followed Ferrari and have renewed the Pact of Concord until 2012. The head of Formula 1 did not want to say the names of these teams that have moved away from the GPWC promoted by constructors like Renault, McLaren and BMW, but the rumours point to Red Bull and Jordan (now owned by Midland). |
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| Nicolas Cage was the glamour at Melbourne |
| The actor Nicolas Cage, invited by Ferrari, brought a touch glamour at the first GP of the season. "This is the second time that I have been to a race in Melbourne. Many of the characters I interpret in my films are men who live at their limits, very intensely, and this is what attracts me to Formula 1" commented the star from Hollywood. Other famous people in the paddock were the singer Danni Minogue and the swimmer Ian Thorpe, both Australians. The latter was delighted "I will be back as soon as I have a chance". |
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