By Andrew Benson
Motorsport editor |
 McLaren's strategy was dictated by weather not the rules, Newey says |
The weather, rather than the new Formula One rules, was the reason for the Australian Grand Prix being so full of drama. That is the view of McLaren technical director Adrian Newey - whose cars finished first and third in Melbourne because the team responded best to the race conditions.
McLaren driver David Coulthard won the race from 11th on the grid, while his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen would have done from 15th had he not been penalised for breaking the pit-lane speed limit.
Raikkonen still finished third - ahead of Michael Schumacher's Ferrari - despite his penalty.
"Melbourne was a good race on TV - but that was because of the weather, not the rules," Newey told the BBC Sport website.
Newey admitted that being so far back on the grid "made it easier" to make the decision to stop his cars so early in the race - giving them a crucial advantage.
 What made this race really exciting was the fact that almost every car other than the two Ferraris was in an unusual position on the grid |
But the decision would have been made even if the cars had been in their more usual positions, he said.
Newey's view contradicts that of motorsport boss Max Mosley - the man who imposed the changes on the teams during the winter.
The president of the sport's governing body, the FIA, believes that the decision to prevent teams making changes to their cars between qualifying and the race jumbled the grid and led to the excitement in the race.
The rule means teams have to do their qualifying laps with a race level of fuel, which mixed up the grid because some smaller teams were able to qualify higher than normal by running their cars lighter.
"What made this race really exciting was the fact that almost every car other than the two Ferraris was in a different position on the grid to that which it would have been under the old procedures," Mosley told Autosport magazine.
"Everybody also had different fuel loads to those that they normally would have had.
 McLaren out-thought Ferrari on strategy in Melbourne |
"A combination of these two factors meant the whole thing became very, very interesting." But Newey said that in some circumstances that rule might be detrimental to entertainment.
"If a driver from a top team qualifies poorly because of a set-up problem with his car, rather than a driver error, then he will race poorly as well - because you can't improve the car's performance before the race," he said.
Mosley's remarks mean it is unlikely there will be any major changes to the rules in the foreseeable future, despite the FIA setting up a meeting with the teams to discuss the issue next month.
However, Newey agreed that the sport should wait before taking any decisions to make changes.
He backed the view of Williams technical director Patrick Head - that the sport should stick with the new regulations for at least half a season so their impact can be fully understood.
MMIX
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