Overview[]
The S4 - Australian Grand Prix was the first race of Masters Season 4 and the 50th FF1M race to take place.
Team and Driver Changes[]
Teams[]
- A Racing switched from Ferrari to Ford engines
- Ajay Motorsports switched from Honda to Toyota engines
- AquinoPlus switched from Ferrari to Renault engines
- Dodgem switched from Ilmor to Ford engines
- FJR switched from Ford to Mercedes engines
- Gui Racing switched from Ford to Ferrari engines
- Maestro Motorsport switched from Ferrari to Honda engines
- Pedersen switched from Ferrari to Renault engines
- Willows Images switched from Honda to Toyota engines
- FJR switched from Bridgestone to Goodyear tyres
- M-Sport switched from Goodyear to Bridgestone tyres
Drivers
- Gianmaria Bruni made his debut with Ajay Motorsports, replacing Martin Brundle who had moved to A Racing
- Neel Jani made his debut with Ajay Motorsports, replacing David Coulthard who had moved to A Racing
- Johnny Herbert returned to FF1M with Dodgem, replacing Takuma Sato, who was left without a drive
- Juan Pablo Montoya returned to FF1M with Willow Images, replacing Olivier Panis, who was left without a drive
- Alain Prost moved from Pedersen to Maestro Motorsport
- Ayrton Senna moved from Gui Racing to M-Sport
- Gerhard Berger moved from A Racing to Pedersen
- Giancarlo Fisichella moved from AquinoPlus to Dodgem
- Jenson Button moved from M-Sport to FJR
- Kimi Raikkonen moved from Maestro Motorsport to Exolite
- Lewis Hamilton moved from Exolite to Maestro Motorsport
- Mika Hakkinen moved from Maestro Motorsport to AquinoPlus
- Nelson Piquet moved from FJR to Gui Racing
- Nigel Mansell moved from Gui Racing to Pedersen
- Rubens Barrichello moved from Pedersen to Gui Racing
- Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher were left without drives
Report[]
An overhaul to the regulations saw pre-season and in-season testing introduced to FF1M for the first time. In the previous three seasons, car development was determined by quizzes set by the AFIA. Furthermore, engine suppliers could now only supply a maximum of three teams in a bid to close up the field and prevent over and underdevelopment. Ferrari had supplied six teams last season and won all races.
The new rules seemed to benefit the two teams from Yorkshire, as the Goodyear-shod Exolite of Damon Hill won the first race of the season in Melbourne ahead of FJR's Jean Alesi, also on Goodyears. With the other FJR of Jenson Button in 5th place, they shared the championship lead with Exolite. Completing the podium was Gui Racing's Nelson Piquet, running on the Bridgestone tyres. Reigning teams champions M-Sport had a disastrous start to the season as both Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, many teams' dream line-up, failed to reach the chequered flag.
Race[]
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Tyre | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 |  Damon Hill
|
Exolite-Ferrari
|
|
12 |
| 2 | 19 |  Jean Alesi
|
FJR-Mercedes
|
|
8 |
| 3 | 11 |  Nelson Piquet
|
Gui Racing-Ferrari
|
|
6 |
| 4 | 6 |  Mika Hakkinen
|
AquinoPlus-Renault
|
|
5 |
| 5 | 18 | Jenson Button
|
FJR-Mercedes
|
|
4 |
| 6 | 1 | Alain Prost
|
Maestro-Honda
|
|
3 |
| 7 | 7 | Nigel Mansell
|
 Pedersen-Renault
|
|
2 |
| 8 | 8 |  Gerhard Berger
|
Pedersen-Renault
|
|
1 |
| Other Classified Finishers | |||||
| Fin | 2 | Lewis Hamilton
|
Maestro-Honda
|
|
|
| Fin | 14 | David Coulthard
|
A Racing-Ford
|
|
|
| Fin | 15 | Martin Brundle
|
A Racing-Ford
|
|
|
| Fin | 22 |  Giancarlo Fisichella
|
Dodgem-Toyota
|
|
|
| Fin | 12 | Rubens Barrichello
|
Gui Racing-Ferrari
|
|
|
| Fin | 20 |  Neel Jani
|
Ajay Motorsports-Toyota
|
|
|
| Fin | 23 | Johnny Herbert
|
Dodgem-Toyota
|
|
|
| Retirements | |||||
| Ret | 5 |  Fernando Alonso
|
AquinoPlus-Renault
|
|
|
| Ret | 4 | Ayrton Senna
|
 M-Sport-Ferrari
|
|
|
| Ret | 9 | Kimi Raikkonen
|
Exolite-Ferrari
|
|
|
| Ret | 3 |  Michael Schumacher
|
M-Sport-Ferrari
|
|
|
| Ret | 17 |  Jacques Villeneuve
|
Willow Images-Toyota
|
|
|
| Ret | 16 |  Juan Pablo Montoya
|
Willow Images-Toyota
|
|
|
| Ret | 21 | Gianmaria Bruni
|
Ajay Motorsports-Toyota
|
|
|
Championship Standings[]
| Drivers Championship | Teams Championship | Engine Trophy | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Driver | Pts. | Wins | -/+ | Pos. | Team | Pts. | Wins | -/+ | Pos. | Engine | Pts. | Wins | -/+ |
| 1 | Damon Hill
|
12 | 1 | = | 1 | Exolite-Ferrari
|
12 | 1 | = | 1 | Ferrari
|
18 | 1 | = |
| 2 | Jean Alesi
|
8 | = | 2 | FJR-Mercedes
|
12 | = | 2 | Mercedes
|
12 | = | |||
| 3 | Nelson Piquet
|
6 | = | 3 | Gui Racing-Ferrari
|
6 | = | 3 | Renault
|
7 | = | |||
| 4 | Mika Hakkinen
|
5 | = | 4 | AquinoPlus-Renault
|
5 | = | 4 |  Honda
|
3 | = | |||
| 5 | Jenson Button
|
4 | = | 5 | Maestro-Honda
|
3 | = | 5 |  Ford
|
0 | = | |||
| 6 | Alain Prost
|
3 | = | 6 | Pedersen-Renault
|
3 | = | 6 | Toyota
|
0 | = | |||