As Formula One deservedly slaps itself on the back having delivered a season opener which proves that there is life after Michael Schumacher, and avoided the threatened legal squabbles that some sections of the media claimed would mar the event, it seems that not everything in the garden is rosy.

Having seen his drivers finish second and third, Ron Dennis has turned his attention to his old enemy, Ferrari, and suggested that the Italian team's victory on Sunday wasn't entirely legal.

Although he hasn't named the Maranello outfit there is no doubting who Dennis is talking about amidst claims of "a team" which is reported to be using a "suspect mechanism".

The suspect mechanism is believed to be a device which allows "a team" to raise and lower the floor of its car, which would have obvious aerodynamic advantages.

Although the FIA checked all the cars in Melbourne, paying particular attention to the Ferrari, speculation is rife in the paddock, even if Dennis is the only person to publicly voice an opinion.

"We will see how things are in two or three races," he told Speedtv.com. "There is a whole range of things that come to light in the first race and you go and you say what is legal, and what is not legal. Most teams are given that current race to enjoy the benefit of the doubt. I think there will be a rationalization of some aspects of some cars that would close the gap if no one did anything.

"You look at people's cars, you are not always of the opinion that rule interpretation has been strictly adhered to, and you get in to, 'Hold on a second, what are we allowed to do and what are we not allowed to do?' and that always takes place at the first event. So it takes a race or two to know what is or isn't permitted."

If there is anything amiss, it is not unusual for the FIA to have a quiet word, as happened in 2006 when numerous teams expressed unease at Ferrari's rear wing.

With the 'customer car' issue yet to be resolved, the last thing F1 needs - especially at a time when the sport is receiving so much positive publicity, much of it due to the maiden performance of Dennis' protege, Lewis Hamilton - it is to be hoped that this matter can be resolved quietly.