Fortune smiles on fourth-placed Frentzen

And going one better than his fifth place in Melbourne lifts him above Nick Heidfeld to fourth in the drivers' championship - and Jordan to third in the teams' title chase.

The German left the circuit in upbeat mood after three days spent under fire from the world's press after speaking out about the sophisticated electronics that Ferrari uses to minimise wheelspin.

But the German was fortunate to be able to be in the Grand Prix at all, as his Honda engine developed an engine misfire before the start. After being saved by the aborted start, he then went on to suffer clutch problems and locking brakes in the race itself.

"Luckily the re-start gave us time to re-set the car's control systems and everything was fine," he said. "In the wet I regained a couple of places at the first corner but couldn't hold my position as the car was slower on a heavy fuel load and a one-stop strategy.

"It is one of the most exciting races I have ever had," he added. "I was fighting with Ralf [Schumacher], Jos [Verstappen] and Mika [Hakkinen]. We went all over the place because of the standing water but this race was totally driven on the limit."