Mark Baker / AP

Italy's Giancarlo Fisichella leads the field during the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.

updated 8:20 p.m. ET March 7, 2005

MELBOURNE, Australia - Giancarlo Fisichella was exuberant, and it was tough to blame him.

He gulped and sprayed champagne after winning the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday in a decided change of pace for Formula One — a winner other than Michael Schumacher.

Schumacher, the seven-time world champion who won 13 of 18 races last season, was never in contention and failed to finish in his bid to defend his title.

His Ferrari teammate, Rubens Barrichello, was second while Fisichella’s Renault teammate, Fernando Alonso, was third. David Coulthard was fourth for Red Bull Racing, formerly Jaguar.

This was Fisichella’s second Formula One victory. His first came after 100 starts, and he had to wait five days to have it confirmed. So it was with good reason he punched the air as he crossed the line and stood in the cockpit as his crew pushed him toward the postrace ceremony.

“It’s my first time to celebrate the victory on the podium,” the 32-year-old Italian said. “It’s been fantastic, a great experience. I want to do it again.”

The 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix initially was awarded to Kimi Raikkonen when the race was stopped in heavy rain. It took a few days for officials to realize stewards had miscounted, and Fisichella’s Jordan was leading when the race was stopped. It took 12 days before he received recognition in Imola, Italy.

“It’s completely different now — it’s a great day for me,” said Fisichella, who led from the pole position and completed 57 laps of the 3.295-mile circuit in 1 hour, 24 minutes, 17.336 seconds, just more than 5.5 seconds ahead of Barrichello.

Schumacher, who last season won his fifth drivers’ championship in a row and sixth consecutive constructors’ title for Ferrari, collided with Williams driver Nick Heidfeld and retired on the 43rd lap. He fell 25 seconds off the pace in the first of two qualifying runs, struggling in driving rain.

He started from the back after having a new engine installed in his Ferrari and worked up to seventh before his tangle with Heidfeld.