THE BIG PICTURE: Despite Brawn's dominance, Red Bull, BMW, Toyota, and Williams are not too far behind, and Ferrari, McLaren, and Renault will certainly not remain backmarkers the whole year. Combine that with perhaps a Toro Rosso surprise, excellent veterans and super young talent, top nine qualifiers within a second, and this is shaping up to be one of the greatest, most competitive F1 seasons in history. Dare we say it, like a CART season during their heyday?

EVENT: How can one not like a race Down Under with the great weather, gorgeous girls, and friendly locals?

RACE: The most anticipated season opener in years did not disappoint.

TRACK: It's hard to rate any Australian track knowing that Adelaide was one of the best street circuits in the world. But, Melbourne does have its positive attributes with some racy sections.

START: Surprise, surprise, a dozen front wings didn't get smashed to bits after all. We have confidence that spectacle is yet to happen...

REGULATIONS: The cars did seem to run closer, and there did seem to be more passing, or at least attempted passes, behind the leader, though the verdict is still out on KERS. Time will tell.

REAR WINGS: Looking at them straight on is the same feeling a woman gets when a guy drops his draws, and all she sees is shrinkage.

ROSS BRAWN: The most brilliant person in F1 history?

BRAWN GP: Fakers or fast? Fast!

MCLAREN: Sandbaggers or slow? Slow!

BUTTON: So much for a dead career.

BARRICHELLO: So much for that great qualifying spot. Drove like a rookie. Then, handed an undeserved gift.

FERRARI: So much for working on that reliability.

RAIKKONEN: So much for that renewed hunger.

NAKAJIMA: So much for the family's highest finish.

PIQUET: So much for his second chance year.

WEBBER: So much for home town luck.

HAMILTON: From bad to worse to, "Hey, I got some points!"

KOVALAINEN: From bad to worse to horrible.

TRULLI: From bad to great to $*#!

VETTEL: A brilliant race ruined by stubbornness.

KUBICA: A brilliant race ruined by overexuberance.

GLOCK: You really didn't think passing Alonso was going to be easy? But, you never gave up, and became a thorn on his side.

MASSA: Defeatist attitude?

ROSBERG: Nico deserved better.

BUEMI: A fine rookie debut.

BOURDAIS: Will be looking over his shoulder at the bosses, once again.

TOYOTA: Are they closer to Brawn GP than many realize?

RENAULT: Will not be sitting back on the rules this year.

WILLIAMS: Could be back in the winner's circle this year.

TORO ROSSO: Team Sebastien put both drivers in the points.

HAMILTON FANS: All those breaking their legs jumping off the Lewis bandwagon, form a line to the left of the infirmary.

TIFOSI: All those breaking their legs jumping up and down in joy over McLaren's pace, form a line to the right of the infirmary.

SAFETY CAR: Who was in charge of the Safety Car, the IRL?

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Diffuser.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 3 -- The article number in the 2009 Formula One Technical Regulations that determines bodywork and dimensions.

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: Jenson Button claimed Britain's 200th Grand Prix victory in the modern era. The first British driver to win was Mike Hawthorne in the 1953 French GP.

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Ross Brawn: "We had 15 months to look at the regulations, and the diffuser regulations were obvious to anyone who bothered to read them."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Timo Glock on his teammates penalty despite meaning Glock moves up a spot, "I don't want to talk about protests again. We've had that the whole bloody weekend, and I'm losing a little bit of confidence in Formula 1, because this is not the way to go."

SCHEDULE: Malaysia is next with it's long straights and potential to show off KERS. More importantly, will Brawn GP continue to stun the F1 establishment?

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