The fact that the Australian Grand Prix has been moved along the calendar from its usual early March slot made itself felt today. It was a much colder day in Albert Park than had been anticipated and getting the tyres up to the right operating temperature was a primary concern for everyone, irrespective of what brand of tyre they were running on.

As is often the case on Friday, the top of the time sheet was dominated by the Friday only drivers, free of the burden of worrying about engine reliability or having to conserve tyres for qualifying and the race. Anthony Davidson was quickest around the street circuit for Honda, with Alexander Wurz second for Williams-Cosworth. Third was Robert Kubika in the BMW-Sauber.

Jenson Button was fourth for Honda, ahead of world champion Fernando Alonso in the Renault. Michael Schumacher was the best placed of the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro drivers in sixth spot, with his team-mate Felipe Massa tenth. Apart from warming the tyres, wind was an issue according to Michael, who found himself being pushed along from behind just when he wanted to brake for a corner. But no damage was done. As for Felipe, the Brazilian was happy to have made constant progress throughout the day and was dismissive of his lap time, as he had to slow several times for yellow flags waved to cover the indiscretion of others. The Albert Park track, used as a normal road for the rest of the year is always therefore very slippery on the first day of practice and several drivers were caught out and ended up spinning off the circuit.

Jean Todt: "The initial analysis of these first two hours of free practice provides us with a clear indication that the major players in this early part of the season are all very closely matched. For our part, we worked mainly on setting up the two 248 F1s and now it is up to the engineers to analyse the data. Temperature will be a very important factor this weekend, both in terms of making the right tyre choice and then of optimising their performance."

Michael Schumacher: "Things went pretty well, apart from a bit of traffic stopping us from getting through 100% of our planned programme.
 

"One variable was the wind, which occasionally made for unpredictable handling. On one lap, I ended up running a bit wide in a corner when a gust of wind pushed the car from behind, when I had no more room to brake. As for the tyres, it will be important to always ensure they are up to temperature. There are no other problems, partly because over the winter we ran in much colder conditions than this. Tomorrow, I hope to be a front runner and be able to start the race from as near to the lights as possible."

Felipe Massa: "It was a good day's work. We concentrated mainly on finding the best set-up. My final time does not reflect my real performance level, because on my last run I had a lot of yellow flags in the final sector of track and I had to keep lifting off the throttle. I am satisfied, because the car is well balanced and we improved constantly throughout the day. I am confident for tomorrow and Sunday."

Ross Brawn: "It was a reasonably positive day. The cars seem well balanced and we had no problems at all. Air and track temperatures are a bit lower than expected and so it takes a bit longer to get the tyres working at their best. Once they reach operating temperature, their performance is good. Now we have to analyse the data we have gathered over these two hours to be as well prepared as possible for qualifying and the race."

Free practice - First session: Felipe Massa: 5th 1.29.025, 7 laps, chassis 252; Michael Schumacher: 6th 1.29.041, 5 laps, chassis 253; Temperatures: air 18/19°C, track 21/22°C

Free practice - Second session: Michael Schumacher: 6th 1.27.658, 16 laps, chassis 253; Felipe Massa: 10th 1.28.227, 17 laps, chassis 252; Temperatures: air 21°C, track 25/24°C