By Andrew Benson Motorsport editor

Renault are set to challenge Ferrari's F1 domination

Giancarlo Fisichella's victory in the Australian Grand Prix was exactly the start the new Formula One season needed.

Already it seems that Ferrari will not have things all their own way in 2005.

Fisichella and his Renault team-mate Fernando Alonso could hardly have looked more impressive in finishing first and third in Melbourne on Sunday, even allowing for the unusual shape of the grid.

McLaren also showed race-winning pace - if not composure - and Michael Schumacher for once looked like just another racing driver.

Fisichella romps to Australia win

It was an auspicious start to a season that already promises to be more like the multi-driver battle of 2003 than the red blurs of 2002 and 2004.

BBC Sport makes some predictions for 2005 based on the evidence of Melbourne.

Renault looked strong in pre-season testing and continued to set the pace in Melbourne. Fisichella and Alonso were competitive throughout the weekend in Australia, and look set to feature strongly throughout the season.

Schumacher and Raikkonen both had off days

Michael Schumacher had one of those weekends when it is easy to forget he is in the race. But his team-mate Rubens Barrichello fought up to second place from 11th on the grid - and that in the team's 2004 car, suggesting Ferrari remain intimidatingly strong.

McLaren's drivers messed up a chance to grab an early advantage over Schumacher, but - like Renault - the new MP4-20 car was impressive all weekend. They will be title contenders.

Jenson Button was never happy with his car and described his weekend as "pretty awful" - BAR have work to do to live up to the expectations generated by their strong 2004.

Williams' prediction that they would not be quite on the pace in Melbourne was spot on, as was their claim that Red Bull would surprise a few people.

Have Your Say on Five Live How do you see the season going?

David Coulthard may have benefited from the rain in qualifying, but the Scot looks likely to be a contender for points on a regular basis.

It remains to be seen whether Williams can live up to their other promise - to be fully competitive within a handful of Grands Prix.

The jury remains out on the new qualifying system.

The mixed-up grid had more to do with the weather than the new rules

A mixed-up grid provided an intriguing race, but that was because of the weather - and would have been the same under the previous system of a single session on Saturday.

Nevertheless, the decision to combine the times from two sessions on separate days does look more likely to provide the odd surprise - which was the whole point of doing it.

Juan Pablo Montoya proved right the predictions that the new tyre rule is likely to lead to more overtaking in the closing laps of the race.

McLaren boss criticises drivers

The requirement to make one set of tyres last throughout qualifying and race means that mistakes are heavily punished, as the new-type tyres lose grip for longer than their predecessors if they get dirty.

There remains, however, great confusion about how this rule will be policed. Teams are allowed to change damaged tyres - but there is no clear answer as to how that will be judged.

New rules explained

Expect problems and disqualifications at races in hotter conditions on more abrasive tracks - like the next event in Malaysia.

It was hoped that the cars' restricted aerodynamics would make overtaking easier. But there was no evidence of this in Australia.