The real secret of the Australian Grand Prix - apart from avoiding the many accidents - was maintaining tyre temperature. And in the final analysis only Renault truly managed this.
Once again the excellence of the R26 chassis played a key role in Fernando Alonso’s stylish victory. The Spaniard reported that he was pleased with the car’s balance all the way through, as rivals moaned unhappily of understeer and oversteer as they tried to keep their tyres hot after the four safety-car periods.
Renault remain the class of the field, though it is evident that McLaren have great potential, and in that respect 2006 is currently mirroring the same stage of the 2005 season.
The blue cars have almost twice as many points as the silver arrows, however, after only three races. Honda, Ferrari and Williams have shown patchy form, while BMW Sauber surprised in Australia. There is a three-week break before Imola, and you can be sure that everyone will be burning midnight oil in prodigious quantities in the meantime in order to try and resolve their respective shortcomings.