FORMULA 1: In the movie Groundhog Day, Bill Murray is doomed to repeat one single day for the rest of his life. Each morning when he is awoken by his clock radio the same DJs are babbling inanely and the same record plays - Sonny and Cher's I Got You Babe.
Yesterday, echoing faintly through the leafy greenswards surrounding Albert Park the same tune could almost be heard, only with slightly different words. "We got Schu, babe" it seemed to chorus with infinite, mocking melancholy.
It is both the curse and blessing of modern Formula One - the greatest driver of his generation, driving for the greatest team of the moment. It is like watching Manchester United if they added Zidane, Figo and Henry. Sure, they'd win all the time but the lack of competition would begin to get just a tad boring.
And if yesterday is any indication, the same red tide that took Schumacher to his fourth world championship title at a canter, is threatening to wash over Formula One once more.
While the rest of the grid fielded new and supposedly improved machinery, Schumacher idled away his day taking his veteran 2001 spec Ferrari around the Albert Park circuit. And, having effortlessly gone 1.5 seconds quicker than his nearest non-Ferrari rival, Schumacher pulled in at day's end.
He climbed out of his F12001 and under the wrathful gazes of McLaren's Ron Dennis and Gerhard Berger of BMW Motorsport, one could almost imagine Schumacher raising his palms up by his side as if to say: "Did I just beat all you guys in my little old junker? Well don't that beat all."
It seemed that simple. The worries and fears that rivals might have made significant steps over the winter disappeared as Schumacher, in damp-to-drying conditions, blasted to within four tenths of a second of his own pole position time of 1.26.892.
So, whither the competition? Well as ever Friday is merely Friday. On a chilly day, by Melbourne in March standards and on a damp track it was impossible to gauge the true worth of the competition surrounding the obviously quick Ferraris.
Williams, for whom Ralf Schumacher was third quickest and Juan Pablo Montoya fourth, look to be within shouting distance and despite the disruption of the wet track, appeared in control of their advance to the top five through both sessions.
Chief Operations Engineer Sam Michael admitted that the circuit hadn't treated the team well and "hoped for better things to come in qualifying and the race".
That confidence may spring from the weather forecast for Sunday, which indicates a return to normal atmospheric service with sunny skies and temperatures hitting the mid-20s. Williams' tyre supplier Michelin suffered badly last year on cold-weather circuits and the lesson may not yet have been fully learned at the French company.
Backing up that theory were the seventh and 11th positions achieved by McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard respectively. McLaren's MP4/17 has been impressive in pre-season testing and the Scot, whose lowly position was explained away via a recurring problem with the left rear wheel, and his young team-mate should provide stiffer competition for Schumacher in qualifying.
It was a more encouraging day for Jordan, however. If the sixth place of Mika Salo for F1 newcomers Toyota can be discounted as a low-fuelled publicity stunt and if his place should have gone to the sidelined Coulthard, then Jordan represent the tail end of the top ten, with Giancarlo Fisichella finishing the day ninth behind the Ferraris, Williams and Saubers.
All those had been expected to shine in the opening phase of the season. Jordan hadn't.
Suspicions about a chronic lack of power from Honda's new RA002E engine and some poor results from test sessions in which the Irish team had been outpaced by lowly Arrows, offered little hope of a bright start to the season but yesterday Fisichella and rookie team-mate Takuma Sato had a productive if slightly frustrating day, with both achieving respectable times but also suffering technical problems.
"Not a bad start to the weekend at all," said Fisichella. "The first session, when I finished third, went very well. In the second I tried some different set-ups, concentrating mainly on race configuration. Sadly, I stopped seven minutes before the end because of a technical problem, which was frustrating as I wanted to get some more work done. If I qualify in the top eight I think we'll have done a good job."
Overall though, as Ferrari exiles such as Eddie Irvine and Mika Salo struggle with little immediate rewards at greenfield sites like Toyota and Jaguar, at their alma mater the edifice they helped to build, has, under the continued patronage of Schumacher, become a towering monolith.
A construct that places all around it in shade. And under darkened skies in Melbourne it still feels as if it will be a long time before any rivals feel the warmth of the sun on their bones again.
AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX PRACTISE SESSION:
1 - M Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari one minute 27.276 seconds;
2 - R Barrichello (Bra) Ferrari 1:27.799
3 - R Schumacher (Ger) Williams 1:28.821
4 - J P Montoya (Col) Williams 1:28.870
5 - N Heidfeld (Ger) Sauber 1:29.572
6 - M Salo (Fin) Toyota 1:29.601
7 - K Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren 1:29.875
8 - F Massa (Bra) Sauber 1:29.937
9 - G Fisichella (Ita) Jordan 1:30.187
10 - J Trulli (Ita) Renault 1:30.298
11 - D Coulthard (Brit) McLaren 1:30.312
12 - J Villeneuve (Can) BAR 1:30.352
13 - T Sato (Jpn) Jordan 1:30.540
14 - P de la Rosa (Spa) Jaguar 1:30.566
15 - J Button (Brit) Renault 1:30.588
16 - A McNish (Brit) Toyota 1:30.602
17 - E Irvine (N. Ire) Jaguar 1:30.973
18 - O Panis (Fra) BAR 1:31.127
19 - HH Frentzen (Ger) Arrows 1:32.465
20 - M Webber (Aus) Minardi 1:32.696
21 - E Bernoldi (Bra) Arrows 1:32.912
22 - A Yoong (Mas) Minardi 1:44.011
