Richards: Weather Played into Ferrari's Hands

BAR-Honda boss David Richards praised rivals Ferrari for their impressive performance in the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday - but warned them they may not have it all their own way for the rest of the year.

Ferrari's performance, and that of their Bridgestone tyre manufacturers, lauded praise from all areas of the paddock but Richards believes it is too early to judge the overall potential of the Italian team's package. BAR-Honda dropped Bridgestone in favour of Michelin at the end of last year after seeing the performance gap close between the Japanese company and their French rivals.

"Today I think the Bridgestone tyres performed well but it was just the right weather to suit them so we can't draw any conclusions," said Richards. "We will learn a lot more in Malaysia. The first thing everyone will have learned from today is that Ferrari have got a really superb and very fast car. For that they must be praised. They have done a great job over the winter, developed their car and package and delivered it."

Although Richards was happy to see his BAR-Honda cars performing well, the team remained slightly disappointed that Jenson Button could not finish higher than sixth place more than a minute behind Michael Schumacher's winning Ferrari.

The team's technical director, former Williams man Geoff Willis, is confident that they can build on their performance, however, and has tipped their Michelin tyres to improve in hot conditions.

"I think you will see us getting better and doing better when it is hotter," said Willis. "I don't know about the future, but I think we will see a clearer picture in two or three races time. We are trying to beat McLaren and Williams and I think we are in the right place.

"Jenson had a very solid race and a good start. Both drives were faultless really so we just need to improve a few things and we can do better. The ambitions of the team are very high this year after all the winter work. We have developed a good car and we know what we hope to achieve and this is a step in the right direction."