Fine weather greets F1 teams in Melbourne

The teams began preparing their garages under slightly cloudy skies, but temperatures still hovered around 28 deg C. With Melbourne enjoying a period of settled weather as it comes towards the end of its summer, the forecast for the weekend is much the same.

Since the majority of the teams' winter testing programmes took place in Europe it will be interesting to see how the engines and tyres adapt to the first run in hot conditions. The first practice sessions could give us a clue because Friday's forecast is almost identical to race day, with a maximum temperature of 28 deg C expected for both days.

Saturday's all-important qualifying session will see only a slight dip in temperature, but a constant 30 per cent chance of showers is forecast for all three days. Just a slight north-easterly breeze is expected so wind should not play too much of a part as teams get to grips with the new-for-2001 aerodynamic rules in race set-up.



Partly cloudy max temp 28 deg C
Partly cloudy max temp 26 deg C
Partly cloudy max temp 28 deg C
30% chance of showers over all three days