World champion Michael Schumacher led a Ferrari parade in the park on Sunday to win the season-opening Australian Grand Prix with a dominant display.
It was the German's 71st win and one of the more straightforward of a record-breaking career that has brought him six titles.
With Brazilian team mate Rubens Barrichello following Schumacher for lap after lap around the Albert Park circuit, the flaming red cars crossed the line in isolated splendour to celebrate a first one-two finish since Japan 2002.
As Stephanie Sheene, widow of the late British motorcycling champion Barry, waved the chequered flag the champion was 34.6 seconds ahead of Spaniard Fernando Alonso's third-placed Renault.
Schumacher's younger brother Ralf was fourth for Williams, ahead of Colombian team mate Juan Pablo Montoya and Briton Jenson Button in a BAR.
Italian Jarno Trulli, in a Renault, and McLaren's David Coulthard collected the remaining points.
Both were lapped by Schumacher in a race that suggested an ominous return to the Ferrari dominance of 2002 that led Formula One to introduce sweeping rule changes.
Raikonnen retires
McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, last year's overall runner-up and a championship favourite, made only a brief appearance before joining the spectators as the season's first retirement.
The Finn was sluggish off the grid and skidded off at turn three after nine laps while running 12th.
"We lost water pressure and then the engine went," said the 24-year-old, who was overtaken by former Sauber team mate Felipe Massa two corners before he stopped.
"We were not expecting 10th place on the grid. It's very disappointing. We shouldn't be in that position, we should be fighting for first place. Nobody's happy."
While a marshal sprayed foam over the back of his smouldering car, Schumacher and Barrichello ate up the miles without missing a beat.
The two red cars made a smooth getaway, leaving Alonso to provide the thrills behind them as Renault picked up the mantle of Ferrari chasers from Williams and McLaren.
The Spaniard threw his car round the outside of Montoya, forcing the Colombian off line, as he swept through from fifth on the grid to third.
Montoya was pushed back from third to seventh, triggering an aggressive fightback from the Colombian whose determination showed as he forced Button on the runoff on lap 39 as he outbraked the Briton.
Australian hopes were snuffed out on lap 29 when Jaguar's Mark Webber, who had climbed to third place during the first round of pitstops, retired.
"I tried to stay out there, I was enjoying it," he said. "It was going okay. I was trying to hang on to the back of the big guys but we lost sixth and seventh gears."
"You have to take the rough with the smooth."
