He retired at the start of the race after braking too early for the first corner, catching Williams driver Ralf Schumacher, who collided with the rear of Barrichello's car.

Following this, the season's opening round, Michael Schumacher left Australia leading the World Drivers' Championship with ten points.

[5] Formula One's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), later confirmed it would be held following the publication of a coroner's report ruling Beveridge's death "avoidable".

The Benetton team was renamed Renault, ending its 16-year involvement in Formula One,[8] and Toyota debuted with drivers Allan McNish and Mika Salo after the Japanese car maker spent 2001 developing the TF102.

[12] At the Jordan team, the 2001 British Formula Three champion Takuma Sato paired with Giancarlo Fisichella,[13] whom Jarno Trulli replaced at Renault.

[16] At the front of the field, the press and bookmakers tipped Ferrari's Michael Schumacher to win his fifth World Drivers' Championship, with Williams's Juan Pablo Montoya as his main rival.

"[24] During the first two practice sessions, the F2001 was fitted with a rear wing used on the F2002 in testing; both Michael Schumacher and his teammate Rubens Barrichello opted for one seen at the 2001 Japanese Grand Prix.

Fisichella, Ralf Schumacher, Massa, the Jaguar duo of Pedro de la Rosa and Eddie Irvine, Frentzen, Salo and Renault's Jenson Button foallowed in third through tenth.

The two Williams cars of Ralf Schumacher and Montoya, Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, Salo, Räikkönen, Massa, Fisichella and Trulli were in positions three to ten.

A short light rain shower made the circuit slippery and caught out Alex Yoong; he beached his Minardi car in the turn one gravel trap.

[31] McLaren's Coulthard and Räikkönen, Williams' Ralf Schumacher and Montoya, British American Racing (BAR) driver Olivier Panis, Sauber teammates Heidfeld and Massa along with Trulli followed in the top ten.

[32] Sato lost control of his Jordan EJ12 car's rear on the entry to Stewart turn with 13 minutes and 34 seconds remaining and crashed into the left-hand side tyre barrier at 160 km/h (99 mph).

The Williams duo of Montoya and Ralf Schumacher improved to third and fourth and the McLaren pair of Coulthard and Räikkönen fell to fifth and sixth.

[3] The session began on a dry track until a heavy rainstorm fell halfway through, making the circuit slippery and prevented any improvement in lap time.

[36][37] Barrichello completed two laps before it rained (the first was compromised by slower traffic);[38] he took the fourth career pole position and his first since the 2000 British Grand Prix with a time of 1:25.843.

[39] Five minutes in Sato's spare Jordan EJ12 car stopped before Stewart turn with a hydraulic clutch problem that automatically selected third gear.

[41][42] A half-hour warm-up session was held on Sunday morning in variable weather as heavy rain fell before it began.

He drove onto a white painted line, lost control of his Toyota and crashed into the barrier; Salo's front wing detached heading towards an escape road.

[52] Before the race commenced at 14:00 local time before a crowd of 127,000 for 58 laps over a distance of 307.594 km (191.130 mi),[1][53] Frentzen and Bernoldi stalled their stationary cars; marshals and mechanics extricated them to the pit lane.

[50] He launched over the Ferrari,[55] grazed Barrichello's helmet,[53] careened 100 m (330 ft) and rested against the tyre wall in the run-off area upright.

[60] The drivers involved in the incident returned to the pit lane, anticipating that the race would be stopped and that they could drive their spare cars for a restart.

[62] On the same lap, Frentzen ignored a red light instructing drivers to stay in the pit lane until further notice and entered the circuit.

[55] Trulli lost control of his Renault's rear on oil at the exit of Jones turn on lap nine, breaking his suspension in a collision with the inside barrier.

[49] When the safety car was withdrawn at the end of the 11th lap, an electrical fault distracted Coulthard, causing him to miss a gear change,[57][58] lock his brakes,[51] and understeer wide onto the grass entering Prost turn.

[64] Approaching Brabham corner Montoya's higher straightline speed moved him past Michael Schumacher on the outside at the end of the main straight for the lead.

[55] Seven laps later, Coulthard became the race's final retirement when he pulled off to the side of track at Whiteford corner because his McLaren was stuck in sixth gear.

"[69] The Australian Grand Prix Corporation's chairman, Ron Walker, convinced Webber and Stoddart to celebrate their fifth-place finish with an impromptu ceremony on the podium, which resulted in a £50,000 fine from FIA president Max Mosley.

[70] In a retrospective interview for The Weekend Australian in 2012, Stoddart called Webber's fifth-place finish "the most exciting two points in the history of Formula One".

[53] Michael Schumacher argued Barrichello braked earlier than normal, saying "I was afraid to turn into the first corner because I suddenly saw cars flying next to me.

[69] Coulthard defended the decision, saying "I've always felt that to deprive the spectators of a number of cars as a result of an incident at the first corner isn't really good for the business.