P3

Time for the showdown. Ferrari have brought forward the debut of the F2005 by a couple of weeks, and will be using the new car for the Bahrain GP. Does this mean the unflappable Michael Schumacher isn't? He - and the rest of the team - certainly seem to have responded to the need of rolling out the new car post-haste. After a disastrous start to the season and team mate Rubens Barrichello performing better than Michael Schumacher, it definitely looks like Michael was able to exert the right pressure on the R&D and testing teams to roll out the F2005.

Of course, it is unforgivably stupid to start writing off Ferrari so fast. They've usually always started the first few races of every season with the old car and so this season is no exception. Added to the fact that the rules have changed this season on. The logical conclusion is not that Ferrari are a spent force, or that they've been cut down to size.

And that's where the Ferrari-baiters are quick to point out that the other teams seem to be doing better. They've started pointing to Ferrari's apparent reliability issues that were seen in Australia and Malaysia. I beg to differ: Michael Schumacher didn't finish at the Albert Park circuit because of a collision with BMW-Williams' Nick Heidfeld. That's not a reliability issue. At least, not with the car. The blame for the collision could be a result of the reliability of the driver's judgement, but hey, look who was driving the other car.

I guess tomorrow's pre-race qualifying should throw up a clearer picture. For the moment though, Ferrari are third on the grid with Michael Schumacher at P3. Wait and watch!