MOTOR SPORT / Start of Formula One season: For a sport desperately short of excitement and entertainment in recent seasons, Formula One has increasingly turned towards internal politics for its fix of thrills and spills. Justin Hynes reports from Melbourne

And after a winter in which Ferrari once again eyed the competition, shrugged its shoulders and decided that last year's car would be good enough to defend its honour as champions at the start of the 2005 season, the days leading up to tomorrow's campaign-opening race here have been all about the sport's obsession with the minutiae of rules, regulations, power and money.

Yesterday, though, Minardi team owner Paul Stoddart took his spat with Ferrari and Formula One's rulemakers to a higher court than the Melbourne paddock, securing an injunction at the state supreme court of Victoria against a race stewards' ruling that had until yesterday evening prevented his cars turning a wheel.

Sprinting down the paddock to tell his team the news, Stoddart uttered a breathless "we're in", leaving the team which is running at the tail-end of the grid free to compete in this morning's first qualifying session, despite a stewards' decision to disallow the Australian team boss to run his cars, which at the moment do not conform to the sport's 2005 regulations.

It was a temporary abatement in a long-running and faintly sordid wrangle sparked by Stoddart's feud with Ferrari and its chief, Jean Todt. The Minardi boss, in line with protocol, had sought the permission of the grid's nine other teams to run his car in the 2004 spec, and all agreed, except Ferrari, who Stoddart accused of holding a grudge after the Australian had made a series of harsh comments about the team, stemming back to the champions' refusal to sign a cost-cutting package for the sport at last year's Brazilian Grand Prix.

Ferrari maintained a stoic silence but eventually relented and gave their consent for the struggling team to compete. The stewards, however, refused, claiming it would be "completely inappropriate" for the team to take part. Stoddart, despite uttering assurances that he would keep the row in-house, raced to the Australian courts and succeeded in his attempt to be allowed race his cars this weekend.

The row will linger, however, as the team wishes to continue racing in 2004 trim until it can introduce its new car at the season's fourth race, the San Marino Gran Prix. The courts will surely beckon again, and a non-Australian judge may take a dimmer view of Stoddart's pleas than that of a Victoria court hearing a tale of woe from a local boy being bullied by the big kids in his school.

So, while McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa was busy setting the day's fastest lap, the effort was barely noticed as Formula One once again attempted to eat its tail.

That, though, is not so surprising. Over 400,000 paying customers will tread through the Albert Park turnstiles over this weekend in the hope that someone, anyone, can upset the Michael Schumacher hegemony. But outside the confines of the circuit the expectation is of more of the same.

It is likely? Probably, but this time out there may be a phony war fought out before Ferrari stamp their authority on proceedings. Despite the confidence being displayed by the Ferrari technical chiefs, both drivers have voiced concerns about the competitiveness of the F2004.

If the drivers' fears prove correct and Ferrari's decision to run last year's car (unlike Minardi, with the 2005 spec modifications) backfires, then McLaren-Mercedes and Renault, in particular, will be ready to pounce.

Both have looked impressive in winter testing and are fielding superb driver combinations. McLaren's though, with Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya, looks a volatile cocktail.

Renault should enjoy an easier ride with their drivers, Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso. Both are calm, rational competitors, unlikely to hurl toys from prams should things not run quite the way they envisaged.

BAR and Williams, the most potent rivals to Ferrari over the past two seasons, look to have creases to iron out before they can focus on an assault on the championship. Both have been troubled in testing, with Williams simply lacking pace, while BAR have endured crashes, engine failures and component glitches.

Elsewhere, it's more of the same, as Sauber attempt to gain a foothold on the top tier, Red Bull (nee Jaguar) struggle to find some rhythm and consistency, Toyota try to justify the billions being haemorrhaged on uncompetitiveness and Minardi fight for the right to party.

One thing is changed utterly, however. A little more than halfway down the paddock there's an anomaly. Residing between Red Bull and Toyota is a team calling itself Jordan. The cars are yellow, the entry list reveals the name, but the reality is altogether different.

Under its new, Russian-inspired regime, a pogrom has banished many of the team's familiar and influential faces to the wilderness. The mood is unsettled, and uninspired, as sombre as the all-black uniforms hastily acquired in the days leading up to Melbourne.

Eddie Jordan's presence in Formula One may have been loved and loathed in equal measure, but the sport is undoubtedly a less inviting, less involving place for his absence.

TOMORROW: Qualifying 2: 10am local time (11pm Sat night Irish time) Race: 2pm (3am Sunday morning).