Michael Schumacher has criticised the Melbourne (Australia) race track. He told a Melbourne newspaper it was not a demanding circuit: "There is nothing special with this track. It is not very demanding for the driver. It does not have really fast corners. It would be better to think about creating better possibilities to make passing cars more easy."

Australian Grand Prix chief Ron Walker was very displeased with Schumacher's remarks. He said: "I expect better form from a sportsman of Schumacher's calibre.

Walker said the track has six overtaking spots and the comments made by Michael Schumacher reflected the fears that he will loose this year's Formula One Championship to Jacques Villeneuve. He also added: "This Sunday at 2:00 p.m. when the cars line up on the grid, I do not want a bunch of good looking prima donnas, but rather real men in real machines. Formula One drivers are, in many ways, better than Olympians. Because of their training they can withstand up to 5G, the equivalent to that experienced by jet pilots."

McLaren driver David Coulthard agrees with Walker, he said: "Every track has its own differences."