Sunday 20th March 2005

The second round of the 2005 Formula 1 championship took place in Malaysia. Fernando Alonso started from pole and went on to win the race from Toyota’s Jarno Trulli by a massive 24.3 seconds. Trulli’s second place marked Toyata’s first podium finish and Alonso’s win made him the first Spaniard to lead the F1 World Championship. But the headlines were shared with Ferrari after Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello finished way down the field in what was described as a “second-hand” car. “There can be no excuses after a race like this,’ said team manager Jean Todt. ‘We were beaten by opponents who were stronger than us.” The race ended Ferrari’s run of 22 consecutive podium finishes, which started at the 2003 Italian Grand Prix.

Two other drivers in the field that day were Anhony Davidson who was making his only appearance for the HOnda team and was deputising for the ill Takuma Sato and Narain Karthikeyan who was making his F1 debut with Jordan and in doing so became the first Indian to race in the sport. The race also marked Rubens Barrichello’s 200th Grand Prix.