Full Throttle

Michael Schumacher made an inauspicious start to defend his world championship at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix on Friday.

Schumacher was forced to retire from the season’s first official practice session because of an electrical fault and could only manage the fourth fastest time in the second session. His best effort of one minute 26.081 seconds was almost two seconds outside the lap record he set at Albert Park last year, and seven-tenths of a second behind McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa.

Although Friday’s practice session does not count towards qualifying and this year’s times were generally slower because of new regulations, Schumacher’s performance may be the first sign that Ferrari will not have everything their way this year.

The Italian manufacturer won 15 of the 18 races last year with Schumacher taking the chequered flag a record 13 times on the way to an unprecedented seventh world title. Schumacher’s domination over his rivals was evident from the first practice session of last season and it was no surprise to see him qualify on pole position then go on and win in Melbourne for the fourth time in five years.