Grapevine: News from the Paddock - Australian GP

Flying High

Aussie Mark Webber has showed he is a high flier in Melbourne in the build-up to his Formula One track debut. The local boy, who will be the first Australian in Formula One since David Brabham in 1994, took to the skies with the RAAF Roulettes team as they performed their show directly over the Albert Park track on which he will begin his Formula One career this weekend. Webber is thought to have survived the flight with few ill-effects.

Splash Down

Sauber's new Brazilian star, Felipe Massa, has already made a splash at his Formula One debut event - by taking to the Yarra River in Melbourne for a spot of water skiing. It is the first time Massa has travelled to Australia, and he had the perfect guide along the river, which runs through the heart of Melbourne, as he teamed up with 12-year-old Australian water skiing champion Michale Brant.

He said: "Water skiing is fabulous fun but it is also great training for the demands we face as athletes in our Formula One cockpits." It was also good preparation for the wet track that greeted him on his professional debut on Friday.

Eddie Goes Bust

Ulsterman Eddie Irvine got more than he was expecting when he turned up on a visit to the newest Jaguar garage in Sydney during the build-up to this weekend's Australian Grand Prix. The fast-talking racer is used to life with the ladies, but even he was not expecting to encounter a lingerie show. Being surrounded by scantily clad women, however, is not new to Irvine, and he proved a consummate professional as he was joined by fellow Jaguar members Niki Lauda and Pedro de la Rosa, as well as former Formula One star and Jaguar boss Sir Jackie Stewart.

Billy Boy

German Nick Heidfeld will be hoping he goes faster in the qualifying session than he did on his arrival at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne on Wednesday, when he turned up in a Red Bull-backed billycart. Heidfeld is enjoying his race build-up as he slowly gets over the jet-lag of flying from Europe, and he began by chilling out with a visit to the cute and cuddly fairy penguin colony on nearby Phillip Island. "In the run up to the race it is important to relax and have some fun," he said. "There are few better places for that than Melbourne, where the guys really know how to have a good time."

Jaws

It appears driving a Formula One car at high speed around Melbourne's Albert Park is not enough to get Williams driver Ralf Schumacher excited. For a little extra thrill, the German star took a dip in the local aquarium for a bit more dicing with death. He donned a wet suit and, after a bit of instruction from the divers, he spent 30 minutes in the pool with sharks, rays and all types of dangerous aqua-animals.

"It was a beautiful experience", Ralf told German television channel RTL, before revealing he almost bottled out. "After they explained everything to me, I had to sign a list and agree to that," he said. "Then I started feeling a bit uncomfortable. When those sharks came so close, you don't really know what exactly they want. So, to be honest I was quite glad when we got out!"

Friday's Fines

German drivers Heinz Harald Frentzen (Arrows) and Nick Heidfeld (Sauber) were the first drivers of the season to receive a fine from the FIA, both for speeding in the pitlane. Frentzen has to shell out $1,500 for driving 6 km/h over the limit, and Heidfeld $1,250 for 4 km/h over the limit.