Feature: Back to the Future in Melbourne

Former Ferrari driver Chris Amon stepped into the Melbourne Formula One paddock last weekend and was lost for words.

While others talked about entering a brave new era, a changed world with revamped rules to pep up the Championship, the New Zealander found Michael Schumacher's everyday surroundings extraordinary enough.

Amon, who started 96 races for the likes of Lotus, BRM, Cooper, Ferrari, March and Tyrrell, was left open-mouthed on his first visit to a Grand Prix since he hung up his helmet at Watkins Glen in 1976.

"It's amazing. Just the whole scale of the thing is so different," said the 59-year-old farmer at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. "Apart from the cars and things, just the number of people in each team, the size of the garages and equipment. I was just sort of speechless. It was a real shock.

In Amon's day, even a team like Ferrari might turn up with fewer than 10 people whereas they took some 75 staff to Interlagos for last year's Brazilian Grand Prix.

"I suppose the one common denominator is that the aim is still to be the first guy that gets to the chequered flag on Sunday afternoon," added the New Zealander.

"There's probably not a hell of a lot else left over. I don't know whether the camaraderie is still quite the same - I think we were probably better able to mix together. It is a very different scene."

Different World

The irony was that, for some teams at least, Melbourne presented a slimmed-down version as a result of changes introduced this season to cut costs. The first race of the season was different for Formula One regulars as well.

Team mechanics could relax and enjoyed Saturday night barbecues for the first time in years as a result of the ban on working on cars between Saturday's new single-lap qualifying and the race.

With the early Sunday morning warm-up now a thing of the past, thanks to the ban on refuelling before the start, there was no rush to get to the circuit before breakfast.

"It was very strange on Saturday night, going home at 7.30 pm and getting a full 12 hours sleep," commented Williams chief operations engineer Sam Michael. "I have never had that in my whole life."

Race day - with overtaking, four leaders and a final outcome that kept even seasoned commentators guessing until near to the end - rolled back the years.

So too did Schumacher, winner of 11 races out of 17 last season, who took a leaf out of the New Zealander's book by setting pole, leading the race and then failing to win on a day dominated by the weather and strategy.

Amon, leader of many Grands Prix in his time, was cursed by bad luck and remains probably the greatest Formula One driver never to have won a race.

He looked forward to seeing the five times World Champion's skills highlighted again later in what already promises to be an enthralling season when more substantial changes are enforced. From the British Grand Prix in July, the so-called 'driver aids' such as traction control and launch control will be banned.

"If it was a little less technical, like it's going to become later this year, then I think you can probably admire what Michael's doing more than perhaps you could last year," said Amon of the changes.

"Qualifying I think is probably a good move and that's going to make it more interesting from a spectator point of view. The changes that are coming later in the year will be positive. I'd like to see traction control and launch control and automatic gearchanging go."