First 'cool' race of the season promises to be hot (ANSA) - Melbourne, March 31 - Ferrari and Renault took off their gloves in the first practice sessions for the Australian Grand Prix making it clear they did not intend to pull any punches in Sunday's race .

Speed is generally not a factor in the first practice sessions for any Grand Prix, which are generally dedicated to testing tires and tweaking the setup, but on Friday both the Italian and French teams set a fast pace in order to keep each other in check .

Renault did not take part in the first practice, in which Michael Schumacher had the sixth best time right behind his Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa, but in the second Fernando Alonso kept the accelerator of his Renault to the floor in order to finish ahead of Schumacher, whom he dethroned last season after a five-year stretch as world champion .


Alonso, who after two races leads the drivers' standings with 18 points to Schumacher's 11, said before the race weekend began that "the level of competition in Melbourne is going to be very high. I think I have a good chance of winning but there are other drivers who can say the same" .

This was a clear reference to Schumacher who before Friday's tests said "I think it is not impossible" to win the Australian Grand Prix .

Speaking after the practice sessions, the seven-time German champion said he wasn't able to test the car's full potential because of traffic on the track and the wind. "Aside from that I had no real problems and tomorrow (in qualifying) I hope to be a front runner and be able to start the race from as near to the lights as possible," he said .

The Australian Grand Prix will be the first 'cool' race of the season after the desert heat of the championship opener in Bahrain and the tropical climate of the last race in Malaysia .

According to Ferrari team chief Jean Todt "temperature will be an important factor for both choosing the right tires and then optimising their performance" .

Schumacher agreed and observed "tires are going to be the key to winning this race. It's going to be important to get them up to the right temperature" .

Because of the lower autumnal temperatures in Melbourne, pundits believe that Ferrari's Bridgestone tires will have an advantage over the Michelins used by Renault .

Ferrari's biggest problem so far this season has been its new V8 engine which had to be replaced in Massa's car twice after Bahrain and Schumacher's once .

Because of the one-engine-two-race rule, the German lost ten grid positions in Malaysia and the Brazilian had to start from the pits .

Ferrari's technical chief Ross Brawn claims the problem with the engines has been resolved and so "on Sunday there shouldn't be any problems. But let's keep our fingers crossed just the same" .

There will be a last practice session Saturday morning ahead of the afternoon qualifying .