Schumacher shows off his flying Ferrari

Ferrari proved emphatically today they remain the team to beat in 2004 after a storming performance on the first day of the new Formula One season.

Six- time world champion Michael Schumacher bettered the Albert Park lap record with a stunning afternoon practice run of one minute 24.718 seconds to cap a day dominated by Ferrari.

Schumacher's team-mate, Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, finished just a 10th of a second back as none of Ferrari's nearest rivals came within a second of the pair in Melbourne.

Ferrari clocked the 10 fastest lap times of the day, including Schumacher's flying morning run of 1min 25.127sec, which bettered the lap record for the first time.

Renault's Jarno Trulli placed third in both timed sessions - his best lap being 1:25.757 - but there was evidence BAR's work over the winter is ready to pay dividends.

Britain's Jenson Button was the fourth quickest driver of the day with an impressive time of 1:25.786 - a run during which he matched Barrichello in recording the fastest speed of the day at 188.5mph.

BAR finished fifth last year and their developments over the summer, led by Button who is now the senior driver despite being only 24, has the leading four teams looking anxiously over their shoulders.

"I am reasonably encouraged by that performance," said team principal David Richards. "Clearly, Ferrari's performance was very, very impressive. They obviously have a very quick car and it was a very impressive performance.

"If we drained all the fuel out I am not sure we could get those times."

Richards did warn people not to get too carried away with Ferrari's times, quick as they are, because the new qualification system leaves a sense of the unknown about Friday practice.

"Let's wait and see where everyone is when we are actually running for the grid tomorrow afternoon," he said.

Button's best split the two Renaults, with Spain's Fernando Alonso (1:25.853) a 10th of a second further back, while the Williams pair of Ralf Schumacher (1:25.882) and Juan Pablo Montoya (1:26.206) were the sixth and seventh fastest drivers respectively.

It was no surprise that the afternoon timed session proved by far the quickest as few teams risked their race engines with a full runout early on.

Coulthard had warned earlier in the week that the leading teams would not risk over-burdening their engines with unnecessary laps in the first practice session.

He disagreed with the regulation, arguing it would shortchange supporters, but said limiting the laps was crucial if the team can hope to complete Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.

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