2010 Australian Grand Prix Race day at Albert Park
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The Ferrari pair are opting for a run through the pits and an additional lap to the grid.
Mike Gascoyne's latest forecast: "rain now predicted 10mins before start and light, could be an interesting 30mins"
Polesitter Sebastian Vettel is also on his run to the grid.
Home hero Mark Webber pulls out of the Red Bull garage and heads to second on the grid.
Felipe Massa tours around to the grid with the softer tyres on his Ferrrari.
There are heavy black clouds overhead as the first cars stream around the back of the circuit.
Alonso in the Ferrari was struggling to make the turn out of the garage, causing a temporary traffic jam.
The pitlane is immediately busy as cars head out straight away.
The pits are now open for the drivers to head around to the grid.
Now that there is no need to conserve fuel, some may pass through the pits and make a further reconnaissance lap to check out the tricky track conditions.
Now that there is no need to conserve fuel, some may pass through the pits and make a further reconnaissance lap to check out the tricky track conditions.
A huge and passionate crowd is on hand again at Albert Park. Organisers estimated 82,000 fans watched qualifying yesterday, with the circuit expected to be at full capacity this afternoon.
Mike Gascoyne of Lotus relays his latest forecast: "Rain predicted in 20mins, duration for 20mins so looks like a wet start"
Beyond the circuit to the north and west, the band of rain and showers continue to add to the suspense ahead of the race start.
The rainfall radar shows the large band of rain holding position to the west, with only minimal movement since we last spoke about it.
Shower activity to the north-west is building and Albert Park remains in the potential firing line - particularly the shower closest to Melbourne that is shaded green, representing moderate rain.
The rainfall radar shows the large band of rain holding position to the west, with only minimal movement since we last spoke about it.
Shower activity to the north-west is building and Albert Park remains in the potential firing line - particularly the shower closest to Melbourne that is shaded green, representing moderate rain.
Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Kovalainen could be one to watch in the pack at the start of today's race. The Finn, driving for Lotus Racing this season, qualified 19th and the best of the new team drivers.
He looked cheerful after qualifying, and stated his clear intentions for the first lap of the race. "If I have a chance to attack at the start tomorrow, I'll have a go," he told AUTOSPORT.
"There are a few cars ahead of me that if I can get a good start I'll try to get ahead of - and then I'll fight if possible.
If the Lotus does come out of Turns 1 and 2 with no damage, then expect an exciting early battle in the middle of the pack as other drivers try to overtake.
Kovalainen aims to get among midfield
Cars leave the pits
Strategy for the Australian Grand Prix was looking quite straightforward before the chance of showers added another factor for the teams to worry about. The unusual 60 km/h pitlane speed limit and Bridgestone's supply of relatively durable tyres means one stop is the clearly the favoured way to complete a dry race here.
Both tyre compounds look capable of lengthy stints, so even the front runners, forced onto the softer rubber for one-lap pace in Q3, could potentially run longer than in Bahrain to their stops - despite punishing the option tyres when the car is at its heaviest.
"I think the weather and the safety cars will be the spectacle tomorrow, to be honest," said Ross Brawn after qualifying yesterday. "And I think the start will be very important..."
The high chance of safety car intervention is the big worry for strategists, which would trigger a scramble to the pits to make the mandatory switch to the alternate dry tyre compound. A very early safety car might see only a few drivers gamble on a tyre change, with a chaotic pitlane rush only likely if the race is neutralised a few laps after the start.
Now, however, all eyes are on the skies as rain continues to threaten the circuit. If wet tyres are used, the need to run both dry tyre compounds is removed.
Wet strategy is all about being on the right tyres for the conditions and - without the need to refuel - drivers can simply keep going until they need a change of rubber.
The V8 Supercars kept a packed Melbourne crowd entertained for the third time this weekend.
Jamie Whincup took the lead at a chaotic start, but slowed dramatically, handing the top spot to Garth Tander on a plate, just as the safety car was deployed to recover the crashed car belonging to Tony Ricciardello.
Race one winner James Courtney then spent two laps dropping oil on the racing line as he challenged Tander for the lead. The oil leak proved terminal and Courtney was forced to retire - no doubt much to the delight of the Formula 1 drivers who will have been monitoring track conditions closely. Tander eventually romped home to his second victory this weekend.
The final piece of the pre-race jigsaw was completed when the drivers appeared on track for the traditional parade. Each driver had his own open-top car to wave to the spectators from, with the leading car being occupied by Qantas ambassador John Travolta.
Jamie Whincup took the lead at a chaotic start, but slowed dramatically, handing the top spot to Garth Tander on a plate, just as the safety car was deployed to recover the crashed car belonging to Tony Ricciardello.
Race one winner James Courtney then spent two laps dropping oil on the racing line as he challenged Tander for the lead. The oil leak proved terminal and Courtney was forced to retire - no doubt much to the delight of the Formula 1 drivers who will have been monitoring track conditions closely. Tander eventually romped home to his second victory this weekend.
The final piece of the pre-race jigsaw was completed when the drivers appeared on track for the traditional parade. Each driver had his own open-top car to wave to the spectators from, with the leading car being occupied by Qantas ambassador John Travolta.
Lucas di Grassi and Timo Glock will start from the pitlane for the Australian Grand Prix after Virgin Racing replaced fuel collectors on both cars and made modifications to the set-up of the suspension.
Timo Glock was already facing a five-place grid penalty after the team was forced to open up his gearbox.
The pitlane start will at least allow both cars to begin the race with full fuel tanks after avoiding the run to the grid and the formation lap.
Pitlane start for Virgin drivers
Timo Glock was already facing a five-place grid penalty after the team was forced to open up his gearbox.
The pitlane start will at least allow both cars to begin the race with full fuel tanks after avoiding the run to the grid and the formation lap.
Pitlane start for Virgin drivers
Here is how the grid will line up this afternoon:
Pos Driver Team
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault
3. Alonso Ferrari
4. Button McLaren-Mercedes
5. Massa Ferrari
6. Rosberg Mercedes
7. Schumacher Mercedes
8. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
9. Kubica Renault
10. Sutil Force India-Mercedes
11. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
12. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari
13. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes
14. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari
15. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth
16. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
17. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari
18. Petrov Renault
19. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
20. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth
21. Glock Virgin-Cosworth *
22. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth *
23. Senna HRT-Cosworth
24. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth
* Pit lane start
No real change to the weather situation over Albert Park in the last few minutes. It remains heavily overcast with a strong breeze blowing.
The rainfall radar is updating the situation continually. Latest indications are that the main band of rain to the west will slide south-east into the ocean, but the current area to watch is the pocket of smaller showers directly to the north-west.
We will continue to monitor how the main band moves between now and the start of the grand prix.
The rainfall radar is updating the situation continually. Latest indications are that the main band of rain to the west will slide south-east into the ocean, but the current area to watch is the pocket of smaller showers directly to the north-west.
We will continue to monitor how the main band moves between now and the start of the grand prix.
Fans at Albert park
Motor racing enthusiasts love to debate and discuss the action on track, and the live forum at the bottom of the screen is your chance to let everyone know your thoughts on events as they unfold at the circuit.
• Can Mark Webber win his home race and give the Albert Park crowd its greatest day in 15 years?
• Do you want to see a wet or dry race today?
• How will Lewis Hamilton fare starting from 11th place? At the first corner he will be in the middle of a huge traffic jam.
• Who will come out on top in the new teams battle? Lotus took the honours in Bahrain getting both cars to the end of the race.
Tell the world what you think.
Click the SHOW LIVE FORUM link in the red bar at the bottom of your browser window if you'd like to join the debate.
The supporting card at the Australian Grand Prix is always packed with entertainment and on-track action.
This afternoon we have already seen the Formula 5000 cars rolling back the years to a golden era in Australian motorsport.
That was followed by the second Formula Ford race of the weekend. Chaz Mostert dominated Saturday's eight lap race and the Queenslander got a flyer at the start today in race two. However the race was short-lived when Caleb Rayner crashed heavily approaching Turn 3.
The race was stopped after just two laps as medical crews attended to Rayner, who was later taken to hospital for observation. Mostert was leading when the crash occurred.
Saturday's Australian GT race was red-flagged prior to Formula 1 qualifying after a huge first-lap shunt approaching Turn 1. Today's eight lap race was also curtailed following another shunt - this time at Turn 10.
Former V8 Supercar star John Bowe pulled to the side of the track with technical problems in his Ascari KZ1, but unfortunately was smashed into by another car. Debris and fluids were strewn all over the circuit on the quick lakeside section, bringing an immediate end to the race.
This afternoon we have already seen the Formula 5000 cars rolling back the years to a golden era in Australian motorsport.
That was followed by the second Formula Ford race of the weekend. Chaz Mostert dominated Saturday's eight lap race and the Queenslander got a flyer at the start today in race two. However the race was short-lived when Caleb Rayner crashed heavily approaching Turn 3.
The race was stopped after just two laps as medical crews attended to Rayner, who was later taken to hospital for observation. Mostert was leading when the crash occurred.
Saturday's Australian GT race was red-flagged prior to Formula 1 qualifying after a huge first-lap shunt approaching Turn 1. Today's eight lap race was also curtailed following another shunt - this time at Turn 10.
Former V8 Supercar star John Bowe pulled to the side of the track with technical problems in his Ascari KZ1, but unfortunately was smashed into by another car. Debris and fluids were strewn all over the circuit on the quick lakeside section, bringing an immediate end to the race.
Sebastian Vettel flies to pole
Sebastian Vettel spoiled the Australian party yesterday with a stunning hot lap in qualifying to snatch pole position away from Mark Webber's fingertips.
The first phase of qualifying these days is a question of who will be the unlucky loser to join the six drivers from the three new teams on the sidelines. This time it was Vitaly Petrov who initially lacked pace and then pushed too hard knowing he was under pressure to improve his lap time.
Q2 is where the real action tends to be. With four teams looking strong at the front, all it needs is for a couple of drivers to go for it in phase two for a big scalp to end up on the wrong side of the divide. Lewis Hamilton was the man to suffer yesterday. He aborted his first effort because of traffic and pitted for another set of tyres. But he was out of phase with the rest of the rest, and gave his best too early. He slipped from seventh to 11th, joining Buemi, Liuzzi, de la Rosa, Hulkenberg, Kobayashi and Alguersuari.
The fastest ten went on to the shootout with Red Bull out to dominate. Webber challenged Vettel hard but the German managed to edge out an extra tenth of a second with a great 1m23.919s lap to grab pole ahead of his team-mate, with Alonso third, Button fourth, Massa fifth, Rosberg sixth and Michael Schumacher in seventh spot. Barrichello, Kubica and Sutil rounded out the top ten.
Vettel heads all-Red Bull front row
Overnight showers served as a warning for today's race. This morning, conditions dawned overcast but dry. However, a couple of light showers have already passed over the circuit in the last few hours.
Track conditions have switched back and forth from dry to greasy and back again. The local weather radar suggests that more rain could be on the way, keeping the team meteorologists on their toes.
It is much warmer today as a strong breeze blows from the north-west. Conditions will certainly be tricky for the drivers - even if no further rain falls. The maximum temperature is up at 29 degrees Celsius.
Track conditions have switched back and forth from dry to greasy and back again. The local weather radar suggests that more rain could be on the way, keeping the team meteorologists on their toes.
It is much warmer today as a strong breeze blows from the north-west. Conditions will certainly be tricky for the drivers - even if no further rain falls. The maximum temperature is up at 29 degrees Celsius.
Albert Park
Hello and welcome to AUTOSPORT Live for the second round of the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
A less-than-thrilling Bahrain Grand Prix two weeks ago could soon be forgotten as the fast cars hit Albert Park for the 15th time.
The race itself begins at 06:00 GMT, but before then we will set the scene by reviewing yesterday's action from an interesting qualifying session, update you on today's weather conditions and support card activity, and focus on some of the major talking points so far this weekend.
By: Emlyn Hughes, Geoff Creighton
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