By Andrew Benson Motorsport editor

Miles ahead and not a rival in sight - but Ferrari cannot celebrate yet

The ghosts of Ferrari's dominant 2002 season came back to haunt Formula One at the Australian Grand Prix as Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello romped away from their rivals.

BAR driver Jenson Button talked of his "shock" at Ferrari's advantage and Renault's engineering director Pat Symonds admitted it was "ominous".

But that does not necessarily mean the season is doomed to be another Ferrari walkover.

In fact, there are reasons to believe it could yet mirror 2003 and develop into another close battle between the top teams, whose chances we assess in the wake of their performances in Melbourne.

When one team is so superior at the first race, it is easy to jump to the most downbeat conclusions.

But Ferrari's advantage on pace at the first race was arguably even greater last season, it was just less obvious because they proceeded to mess up the race in changeable weather conditions.

Schumacher celebrates his 71st Grand Prix victory

And last year developed into one of the closest seasons in living memory.

Few observers are hopeful of a repeat of such a thrilling season - but it is nevertheless true to say that conditions in Australia were perfect for the world champions.

The cool weather meant Ferrari's Bridgestone tyres were operating at their optimum, and took the edge away from the Michelins used by all the other big teams.

Ferrari may not find things quite so comfortable in hotter conditions, such as they will encounter in Malaysia in two weeks' time, Bahrain a fortnight after that, and in the heart of the European summer.

Nevertheless, the new Ferrari car is clearly a major advance on its predecessor, even if it looks similar. And last year's car was already the class of the field.

On top of that, Michael Schumacher says his motivation and desire are undimmed, and the car appears to have inherited Ferrari's admirable reliability.

As Mercedes sports boss Norbert Haug put it: "At the moment you have to assume that Ferrari are strong everywhere. It would be wrong to put it down to the tyres alone."

Pre-season reports by their rivals had suggested Renault might be best placed to challenge Ferrari this season, and the first race showed why.

Alonso and Renault looked strong and consistent in Melbourne

Fernando Alonso was unable to challenge the Ferraris, but he stayed in touch for a while, emphasising the Renault's consistent race pace.

On a hotter day, more suited to his Michelin tyres, Alonso can be expected to give the Ferraris some serious trouble.

The decision to switch to a new engine appears to have paid off for Renault.

Their new unit gave not a hint of trouble over the weekend, and if it continues in that vein it could prove a crucial advantage in a year in which reliability will be more important than ever.

Renault's biggest problem may be their pace in qualifying, which appeared in Australia not to be quite a match for that of Williams. That could mean Alonso spends time trapped behind slower rivals come Sunday afternoons.

Williams had expected this to be their best chance of winning a world title since 1997, so Ferrari's pace in Melbourne was something of a shock to the team.

Ralf Schumacher described it as "worrying" that his car was a second a lap slower than the Ferrari - but, as with all Michelin teams, it is unlikely to stay that way.

Williams had an untidy race, but can expect a reasonable year

Williams' ultimate pace is difficult to judge, as both drivers spent much of the race trapped behind slower cars.

But the team's new BMW engine appears to be as strong as ever and they can be expected to join Renault in carrying the fight to Ferrari as the season progresses.

Of the drivers, little appears to have changed. Juan Pablo Montoya was the quicker, but he made too many mistakes, allowing Schumacher to edge ahead of him.

The Colombian, clearly Williams' best chance of a title, will need to cut out the errors to mount a serious challenge in what will be a long, hard season.

On the evidence of Melbourne, McLaren are in unexpectedly deep trouble.

McLaren are in deep trouble after a poor start to the season

They expected to challenge for the world championship this season, but in Australia they looked - at best - like the fifth best team.

Their problems are many.

The car lacks grip. The drivers cannot make it behave the way they want it to. It does not work its tyres hard enough to be quick in qualifying. And, although it is less slow in the race, it cannot produce consistent lap times.

Worst of all, its reliability was dreadful, and the Mercedes engine appears to be even worse than the car.

An engine failure made an unhappy Kimi Raikkonen the first retirement, and the word is that McLaren are having to limit their mileage knowing that the Mercedes V10 is not capable of lasting the 800km (500 miles) of a race weekend.

Button and BAR showed well, but still have work to do

BAR were the stars of winter testing but the Australian Grand Prix proved they still have some way to go before they can hope to repeat that form on a race weekend.

The new BAR 006 car is clearly the best car the team have ever produced.

Its strength is that it is quick in qualifying - Jenson Button and Takuma Sato were fourth and seventh on the grid.

But both went backwards in the race, when the car worked its tyres too hard and began to lose grip, dropping off in pace towards the end of a stint.

If that is a problem in the cool weather of Melbourne, it could become a major drama when the weather is hotter.

Nevertheless, on Australian form, BAR are in better shape than McLaren and can look forward to a comparatively strong season.