Webber and rivals get chance for pole as Ferrari starts year with old model.

(From Canberra Times)

Ferrari's decision to field a hybrid version of last year's world championship-winning car for the first race of the 2005 season in Melbourne in March may open ''a small window of opportunity'' for rivals like the BMW-Williams team to stage an upset. Queanbeyan F1 driver Mark Webber, who will have his first race for his new team, BMW-Williams, at Albert Park says that bringing a modified version of last year's ''old'' Ferrari model to Melbourne is a calculated gamble by the reigning champions. On one hand, he says, Ferrari has a car which it knows will be fast and reliable for the first three and arguably the most technically challenging ''away'' races of the season with the Australian race closely followed after by the fast tracks and fierce heat of Malaysia and Bahrain.

On the other, the ''old'' Ferrari might not prove quite fast enough against the crop of all-new chassis designs emerging this year, including the BMW-Williams FW27, due to be unveiled in Valencia, Spain today.

''They [Ferrari] have got a vehicle which they understand completely,'' Webber said. ''They're willing to take the risk that although the car will be strong and reliable for the first few races of the season, it might start to fizzle out [in performance terms] a little bit before they [Ferrari] get to Europe.'' After the first batch of ''away'' races, the F1 teams head back to Europe for the fourth world championship round: the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola. That usually heralds a host of new technical developments by the teams and in the case of Ferrari, is expected to be the point at which it reveals a much- feared all-new car. So in the case of Webber and BMW-Williams, the 2005 season will be a case of striking hard early.

''There might be a bit of a crossover there [early in the season] where the other teams like us might come through,'' Webber said, prior to the launch of the new FW27. ''But we're all worried about the new [Ferrari] car [because] if past form is anything to go by it will be a very, very good package.'' Webber had his first, brief drive of the new FW27 yesterday under tight security at the Valencia track in Spain, coming after weeks of testing a ''hybrid'' car, the FW26C, which has used the new BMW V10 engine, plus the new seven speed gearbox and revamped rear suspension.

''It's very promising,'' he said. ''Obviously it's still early days and we still don't know where everyone else is at in terms of their progress but yeah, things are coming along really well.'' The 28-year-old former ACT karting star and Queanbeyan East High School student says he still feels like he has to pinch himself when he wakes up every morning. After moving to Europe nine years ago, grafting away each season, training with an often fierce obsession and chasing his ...