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The crowd was large and enthusiastic despite the gloomy and sometimes spritzy weather at Albert Park last Sunday for the 26th (modern) Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne. There has been no more talk about the Australian Grand Prix moving to Avalon, but much chest-beating by local Victorian politicos saying while Sydney may want the AGP, it can’t and won’t have it. The current Melbourne contract runs through 2014 and already AGPC is seeking an extension.

The twilight racing concept will continue throughout the length of the FOM contract. The problem with either the sun’s glare or the impending darkness causing visual problems for the drivers is being addressed. Although there has not been official confirmation from AGPC, a local company which wishes to showcase its developing portable lighting technology, is in talks regarding the provision of its innovative new system free for the 2011 race. The idea is to show the world during the world-wide telecasts that there is an easier, less expensive and visually better way to light street circuits.

Originally MICHAEL SCHUMACHER/Mercedes was the only holdout driver who didn’t join the 2010 Grand Prix Drivers Association. His position, according to his spokesman, was that he “still supports the work of the GPDA, but he is not sure if he will join again. After all, he took the lead in this area for years. Now he really wants the others, who have taken over in the meantime, to continue.”

GPDA is now led by NICK HEIDFELD who replaced PEDRO de la ROSA, who stepped down after moving back up to a F1 ride with BMW Sauber – the team for whom Heidfeld drove last year. Heidfeld is now the reserve/test driver for McLaren…again.

After AGP, Schumacher has retracted his position and advised Heidfeld he is joining GPDA and wants to be an active participant. No doubt spurring on his new resolve was the AGP and being unable to pass Rookie JAIME ALGUERSUARI/Scuderia Toro Rosso for many laps. When Schumacher did, according to STR, it was because the young driver failed to maintain the concentration shown by the veteran Schumacher, and Alguersuari was passed, losing his chance at his first GP point. Instead Schumacher gained it, putting him eighth of 24 drivers in the F1 Drivers Championship.

Schumacher has two issues he wants GPDA to raise with FIA: blocking, which he brought up before AGP; and the inability of the current rear-view mirrors to do their job. The oldest driver on the grid feels that CHARLIE WHITING, FIA F1 Race Director and Safety Delegate, should take a stronger stand on defining blocking. Schumacher also feels that the existing rear view mirrors should be eliminated for failure to do a proper job. A mechanic on another team had told me prior to the race that everyone in the F1 garage knew the mirrors were too small and unstable to be effective. What the mirrors are is an effective aerodynamic device.

What happened to F1 drivers being chauffeured around during a race weekend? What has gotten into the F1 drivers – boys and their toys, or better put – Boys Behaving Badly. First LEWIS HAMILTON/McLaren got busted in his fancy Mercedes during the race weekend for doing burnouts and fishtails outside the circuit – in full view of the police. The arrest/car impound scenario was chronicled by an onlooker and posted to YouTube.

A second F1 driver has been caught on video, also now posted on YouTube. In these days of social networking, everyone thinks he/she is the next indie film producer with smart phone videos. Ferrari confirmed Tuesday that Sunday night, FERNANDO ALONSO was one of the two Ferrari’s seen street racing in downtown Melbourne. It was captured on an amateur’s video and immediately went viral. Now you don’t need to have SPEED TV, Sky TV or One Sports to see Mercedes and Ferrari street racing. Check out YouTube and watch it as many times as you wish.

You Tube, which was founded in 2005, was sold to Google a year later, netting co-founder CHAD HURLEY millions of dollars and lots of Google stock. Earlier this year Hurley was involved with the ill-fated USF1 team. When that fell through, it was thought Hurley would find another team with which to partner.

Hurley has been working behind the scenes with Virgin Racing and using his previous F1 contacts and considerable wealth to get the team the new fuel tanks it needs to run the full race distance. Recently the team announced it couldn’t run a full race if it wanted, as its fuel tanks were built to previous specs before the rules changed mid-stream. The team has received dispensation from FIA to install new, larger fuel tanks. Virgin’s plan was to have them in place by the Spanish Grand Prix in early May. So far the team has been what NASCAR calls Start and Park, running as long as it can, before falling out with ‘mechanical problems.’ This allows the team to get its sponsors out in front of the public eye as much as possible. The two Virgin drivers were the top two drivers in the AGP ‘Not Classified’ category, with TIMO GLOCK of Germany finishing 41 of 58 laps, and Brazilian LUCAS Di GRASSI completing 26.

Virgin, which started out as Manor Racing, is named after RICHARD BRANSON’s companies. However, Branson’s Virgin brand isn’t as much of a backer as it might seem, and VR is struggling financially, as well as otherwise.

Hurley is now using his USF1 contacts to acquire its fuel tanks, as well as putting money where his mouth is, so to speak. The plan is to get them sooner rather than later, i.e. by Shanghai in mid-April.

As he has a financial incentive via his stocks for YouTube to flourish, quick-thinking Hurley plans to capitalize on the recent mega-star escapades and viral technology to utilize it as part of an innovative marketing plan which he will unveil this weekend in Malaysia.

APRIL FOOL!

Boring is not a word to which I would ascribe the Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix.  There was racing, on-track overtaking, dicing, and lots of action.

JENSON BUTTON/McLaren, who started fourth, took over the lead when Pole Sitter SEBASTIAN VETTEL/Red Bull Racing drove straight off in Turn Three on Lap 26 and was beached. Button never looked back and his Margin Of Victory was 12.034 seconds ahead of ROBERT KUBICA/Renault in his first-ever finish at AGP. Vettel said later “It breaks my balls not to get the win.”

Third was FELIPE MASSA/Ferrari, followed by teammate and points leader FERNANDO ALONSO, and NICO ROSBERG/McLaren – the first driver to have two pit stops. Rosberg’s crew seemed to be the fastest in pit lane, with the young lad’s last stop a mere 4.3 seconds.

The crowd was large and enthusiastic – estimated at 108,500, with overall at 305,000. Both figures exceed 2009 which were 105,000 for Sunday and 286,900 for the weekend. The temperatures ranged from 70 F/21C to 79 F/26 C.

Kubica did a brilliant job keeping the two Ferrari’s and Mercedes behind him. In their determination to pass and succeed, there was a misstep two laps from the finish. LEWIS HAMILTON/McLaren, running sixth, tried and failed to pass Alonso, and they got in each other’s way. Aussie MARK WEBBER/Red Bull Racing hit Hamilton and went into the gravel. But he powered out and pitted for a new nose. Webber finished ninth, in the points, but just. However, every time he was behind, he charged ahead, pealing off fast laps and on Lap 47 his best time of 1:28.358 held for the race. About his finish, he said he “went down fighting” and he apologized for hitting Hamilton.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER/Mercedes made it into the points, finishing tenth – even after three pit stops. He finally got past JAIME ALGUERSUARI/Scuderia Toro Rosso after a long time of not getting by. STR said that its young driver learned “an interesting lesson” from Schumacher about maintaining concentration.

Rain started just before the National Anthem, and the race was declared ‘wet’ which meant the teams didn’t have to run both of the dry tire compounds. But the shower was not long-lasting, and Button’s strategy of an early switch from intermediates to soft slicks paid off. “We couldn’t have had a better strategy.” He had but the one stop, as did the next three finishers. The Intermediate-soft combination was the preferred choice by most.

Button survived a first-lap, first corner contact on the wet track, hitting a slow-off-the-block Alonso, who hit Schumacher, while Hamilton took an evasive ride on the grassy side.

If KAMUI KOBAYASHI/BMW Sauber didn’t have bad luck, he wouldn’t have any at all. He suffered his third front wing problem of the weekend. This time it was much more disastrous – on the opening lap. The wing was lost in a contact at the start, and Kobayashi crashed the wall big time at Turn Six, and rebounded on track, taking out SEBASTIEN BUEMI/Scuderia Toro Rosso and NICO HULKENBURG/Williams. Parts went flying everywhere and the Safety Car came out. The new Electronic Flag System of brilliantly flashing light panels got a workout. Nothing has been reported on the condition of any of the drivers.

Only 14 drivers finished the race, and of those, KURAN CHANDHOK/HRT was last, five laps down – but the only Rookie in the race of the seven in the field of 24 to complete the race. He started twenty-second, gaining eight positions – the most of any driver in the race. Having Rookies comprise one third of the field helped raise the count of blue flags furled during the 58-lap race.

JARNO TRULLI/Lotus never even started after suffering hydraulic problems. VITALY PETROV/Renault spun off into the Turn Three gravel, and those who didn’t have an accident had mechanical failures.

Alonso now has 37 Driver’s points, four ahead of his Ferrari teammate. Button is close behind with 31. Hamilton has 23 for fourth, and Rosberg is fifth with 20.

Ferrari continues to lead the Constructor’s Championship with 70 points ahead of McLaren – 54. Mercedes is a distant third with 29. This and the results are all provisional. We all know from experience last year that it’s not official until FIA says it’s official.

Round Three is next weekend (Easter) in Malaysia.

Two hours plus of pre-race festivities filled the time before the start of the twilight Qantas Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. The Aussies know how to have a good time. Presenting sponsor, Qantas, brought its child choir which do the wonderful ‘I Still Call Australia Home ‘ commercials. They sang it, and then later, the Australian national anthem. A long caravan of beautifully restored Austin Healey’s chauffeured the F1 drivers as well as Australian Motorcycle Legends DARRYL BEATTIE, MICK DOOHAN, and WAYNE GARDNER for the slow parade lap around the circuit. Pole Sitter SEBASTIAN VETTEL/Red Bull Racing was wearing ear phones for music during his ride. The parade was led by Qantas Ambassador, JOHN TRAVOLTA, who his own Qantas 737.

Overnight the F1 cars had the equivalent of Parc Ferme house arrest. Instead of impounding the cars after Qualifying in a couple of locked garages, they were parked in their own garages, all sealed up – literally, in the equivalent of a zip-lock car cover bag. Each car had two bright blue tie wrap seals affixed and removed by FIA. The cars were under lock and key, so to speak, until exactly 12 noon local time. When the team rolled up its doors, the CAMS F1 Scrutineer Observer was on hand, standing guard so to speak, over the car. Three FIA officials lined up in front of garages and on the command, they began to clip the seals, in front of the team mechanics. The seals were collected, counted and put in a sealed envelope. When the FIA official got to the HRT garage, there was no member of the team in the garage at all. The bemused official walked around, searching for someone, anyone; and then threw up his hands and walked away muttering in French, leaving the car sealed.

Those F1 teams are losing a marketing opportunity. The sealed car covers for the most part were plain, baggy and unattractive. Lotus had its traditional BRG color, Ferrari was red, and Scuderia Torro Rosa actually had its name on the cover. Another lost opportunity is the end plate of the long compressed air boom. If given the chance, check out the Ferrari boom. That team doesn’t miss a trick. Their compressed air bottles have custom-made red insulated covers with the black prancing horse.

Ferrari boom end plate. Photo by Rich McLean

So far there has only been a spritz here or there during the day, usually coming during one of the support races. The skies have remained grey all day, so no sunset glare problems today for the concerned F1 drivers. The worry now is if/when the rain will hit.

All the F1 cars have cameras, either on their noses or behind the driver’s cockpit.

Saturday’s Albert Park crowd certainly was Feeling The Energy. There were people everywhere, the grandstands looked full, and all the viewing mounds were packed. The estimate attendance was 82,200.

The skies were grey and leaden all day but it was not cold. The brisk breeze felt good. There have been afternoon forecasts of 40-90 kph winds, depending on which source you believe.

SCRATCH THAT! The rain has started just prior to the National Anthem. The two Virgin cars will start from Pit Lane, a penalty incurred for working on the car overnight.

SEBASTIAN VETTEL/Red Bull Racing scorched the Albert Park circuit Saturday to score the pole for the Qantas Australian Formula One Grand Prix with a record 1:23.919 set in the third of three Qualifying sessions. The young German broke the six-year old track record of 1:24.125 set by MICHAEL SCHUMACHER/Ferrari in 2004.

It’s his second straight pole for Vettel this year. The kid is hot.

Local lad and RBR teammate, MARK WEBBER, was second, making it a jubilous celebration in the RBR garage.

FERNANDO ALONSO/Ferrari was a glum third driver on the podium Saturday afternoon.

Fourth and fifth were JENSON BUTTON/McLaren and FELIPE MASSA/Ferrari.

The weather was cooling throughout the afternoon and it almost felt/looked like rain, but the times just kept dropping. The rain held off until the start of the V8 race. Just a spritz which quickly vanished. But the temperatures dropped considerably.

Each of the 12 F1 teams have two cars. No backup or T cars are allowed any more. The teams may have a third (unfinished) tub but it isn’t allowed in the garage – it has to be out back.

The gate which is open/closed for access to the F1 starting grid weighs two tons, but is decidedly narrow. Looking at it, one can almost agree with Bernie for limiting the access.

Seeing as how the weather has been overcast for the past two days, maybe the F1 drivers won’t have to be concerned about the sun’s glare in their eyes at 6 PM Sunday during the twilight race.

Aussie driver, MARK WEBBER/Red Bull Racing was not only the fastest of 24 F1 drivers Saturday afternoon in the final practice at Albert Park for the Qantas Australian Grand Prix, he did it in spades. He set record after record, and ended up 1:24.717. Last year’s fastest time of 1:25.808 was set by NICO ROSBERG. Saturday ten drivers bested that time, and three got into the 1:24′s.

The weather was grey, overcast and muggy, but the cars loved it.

Second through fifth fastest were FERNANDO ALONSO/Ferrari, MICHAEL SCHUMACHER/Mercedes, Webber’s RBR teammate, SEBASTIAN VETTEL, and Rosberg, who now drives for Mercedes.

The beleaguered HRT team had another bad hair day. The two drivers,  KARUN CHANDHOK and BRUNO SENNA stopped on course, and ended up at the bottom of the charts. Chandhok was almost ten seconds off the pace, and Senna was closer to 12 seconds behind. Senna had hydraulic issues.

On another note – here you thought famous F1 drivers were chauffeured everywhere. Poor LEWIS HAMILTON/McLaren got busted Friday night by the local gendarmes. Seems Hamilton was caught doing a burnout and fishtail on Lakeside Drive – the road outside Turn 13. So he and the passengers in his Mercedes were driven away in a cop car, while the Mercedes was loaded onto the back of a tilt bed tow truck for compulsory impound for breaking ‘anti hoon’ laws.  And to top it off, YouTube has the bust  recorded for posterity.

Hamilton released a cryptic apology: “This evening, I was driving in an over-exuberant manner and, as a result, was stopped by the police.

“What I did was silly, and I want to apologise for it.”

Next up is F1 Qualifying.

ROBERT KUBICA/Renault was the fastest driver in the first practice session, with a lap of 1:26.927. MICHAEL SCHUMACHER’S record of 1:24.125 set in 2004 is safe for now. The day started out hot and sunny and worked up to 86 F/30 C before dropping and cooling off for F1 practice, to 75 F/24C. The skies clouded over and the wind decidedly came up. All 24 drivers were on course.

NICO ROSBERG/Mercedes was second, followed by 2009 World Champion JENSON BUTTON/McLaren, FELIPE MASSA/Ferrari, and SEBASTIAN VETTEL/Red Bull Racing. Schumacher was thirteenth, just ahead of local hero MARK WEBBER/RBR in fourteenth.

For the second session, no one could catch LEWIS HAMILTON/McLaren at 1:25.801. He was the first and only driver to break into the 25′s. Eight drivers topped Kubica’s time. The weather conditions were decidedly different. It threatened rain on and off, posing a tire dilemma for the teams – not wet enough for intermediates and not dry enough for slicks. The rain eased and the majority of the drivers went on course.Then the rain started in earnest, but soon passed. The temperature was 71 F/22 C, but it certainly felt much cooler.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER/Mercedes, LUCAS di GRASSI/Virgin Racing, BRUNO SENNA/HRT, and TIMO GLOCK/Virgin still hadn’t turned a time by the halfway mark. The Virgin drivers hadn’t expected to go out at all. Glock had a gear box leak, Di Grassi had mechanical problems. Senna had a fuel pressure problem.

Then…Schumacher went out and was the slowest car on course. That didn’t last long. All of a sudden, he shot up to third overall where he remained until the end when Webber pipped him and they traded places.

Several car had offs in the first session, including RBR. He then neatly executed a Formula One U-Turn in the run off area. You don’t get to see that often.

KAMUI KOBAYASHI/Sauber lost his front wing twice. The first time he ran over a kerb, and in the second, he lost the front wing, swerving wildly into Turn Three where he stopped, after scattering debris everywhere. He caused a Red Flag.

Force India’s test/reserve driver, PAUL Di RESTA of Scotland, replaced ADRIAN SUTIL for the first session, and finished eleventh. Sutil placed seventh in the second practice.

In the second session, on his out lap, KARUN CHANDHOK/HRT didn’t travel far. He stopped on course at Turn One and left his car.

It was a stunning sunset which ended the first day of the Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix. The crimson sky and fireball setting sun at Albert Park in Melbourne had many a camera pointed its way.

All the National support categories had the track to themselves Thursday, including, V8 Supercars, Australian GT Championship, Tasman Formula 5000 Revival, Formula Ford, Mini Challenge, and Historic Demonstration. JAMIE WHINCUP/Triple 8 Holden has the V8 Supercar pole for Friday’s race, which is for bragging rights rather than championship points.

Speaking of sunsets, it was a topic of discussion at the Thursday afternoon FIA F1 Press Conference among drivers VITALY PETROV/Renault, JARNO TRULLI/Lotus and MARK WEBBER/Red Bull Racing. The question was raised about racing again in the the twilight, which was introduced last year, the bad sunlight conditions, and did they feel unsafe. Trulli said “We raised our concerns last year, but apparently nothing has changed. There is very little you can do on the safety side of the track, apart from starting the race an hour earlier, which probably won’t hurt anyone. We have given our opinion and that’s it. The FIA or whoever has decided to keep the twilight race at that time, so we just have to deal with it. This year, if we want to make a change for next year, we will say that we are very happy at the end of the race. That’s the only way.”

Webber said “Jarno has hit it on the head. If you picked the best tine to have a high speed sporting motor race event, obviously it’s not when the sun is at eye level with us. Anyway, that’s how it is for lots of different commercial reasons. As Jarno says, next time we say it’s fantastic and we should say we should have the race at 5 o’clock at every race in the season and I think they will move it somewhere else.”

All 24 F1 cars went through initial scrutineering and were found to be in conformance. One of the things checked in the cars is the cockpit exit time and the clearance of the driver’s knees. These were checked with Force India’s test/reserve driver, PAUL Di RESTA of Scotland. Both Di Resta and American driver J.R. HILDEBRAND of Sausalito CA tested with Force India in December. While Hildebrand “worked very hard and was impressive in the test,” according to team owner, Dr. VIJAY MALLYA, Di Resta got the ride.

The announced attendance for Thursday was 46,300, up from last year’s 42,300. The race’s theme is “Feel The Energy!” Maybe it takes a while. The TV monitors occasionally showed empty grandstands and open grounds. Even Brocky’s Hill was not packed. Around town, I didn’t see as much hype and promotion this year as I’ve noticed in year’s past. The FIA scheduling of Melbourne as the second rather than opening race of the season, and on top of the season’s start of wildly popular AFL (on the same four days) could be part of the lower-key atmosphere I sensed.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER/Mercedes was looking quite fit Wednesday afternoon as he quickly rode literally into the sunset on a two-seater bike with a male passenger.  He had arrived in town a day earlier than expected and had spent it making appearances in town.

Jenson Button signing autographs. Photo by Ron Searle

Outside the Formula One Paddock gate, the Fan Viewing Stand was filled all day with hopeful fans awaiting a glimpse or maybe an autograph from the F1 drivers as they arrived or left., while a corps of Security Guards kept everyone orderly. Several drivers had exotic chauffeured cars pull up to the entrance for drop off or pick up of their sought-after passengers. FELIPE MASSA detoured from his silver Lamborghini to visit the enthusiastic spectators, while teammate and current points leader, FERNANDO ALONSO actually walked from the nearby car park. Both drivers signed and posed, as did several others including RUBENS BARRICHELLO/Williams, JENSON BUTTON/McLaren, and HEIKKI KOVALAINEN/Lotus. The eager gathering was well organized. One lookout would spot the driver, yell his name, and another would yell out what page in the race program, so they all could be ready for that treasured signature.

Keeping a lower profile was former F1 team owner, EDDIE JORDAN.

Friday at 12:30 pm local time, the F1 cars have their first practice on the 3.295 mile/5.303 km circuit. The current lap record of 1:24.125 is held by Schumacher, set in 2004.

Wednesday was relatively quiet at Albert Park in Melbourne leading up to the 2010 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix. In Pit Lane many of the F1 teams were at work hidden behind screens totally blocking any view into their garages. Force India was one of the few who eschewed screens.

For three hours in the afternoon, the Pit Lane was mobbed with various spectator/fan tours with those who had spent the big bucks for the opportunity. They were rewarded with the McLaren team’s pit stop practice.

Stoddart and Baumgartner - Photo by Lynne Huntting

The Minardi F1 two-seater made eight runs Wednesday afternoon, four each with driver ZSOLT BAUMGARTNER and retired Aussie V8 Supercar driver, CAMERON McCONVILLE. The drivers will continue to provide the thrill rides throughout the weekend. Car owner, PAUL STODDART of Australia, was on hand watching and catching up with folks. When asked, he told me that he may have been misquoted in the media recently – he wasn’t sure as he hadn’t been following it.

Earlier in the day, the GP Girls accompanied that Minardi F1 two-seater to a downtown show and tell at the GPO, with a male model posing as the driver. For the first time in recent memory, the GP Girls weren’t showing much skin. My comment on the all-black outfits – “Nice hats.”

There were a few dog and pony shows going on around town, with some of the F1 drivers taking part in a variety of activities to promote the race. SEBASTIAN VETTEL/Red Bull Racing was the good sport, trying out Aussie pastimes such as throwing a boomerang and blowing a didgeridoo.

Behind the scenes, in the track’s Medical Center, the CAMS (Confederation of Australian Motor Sports) Medical Team went through its paces for the FIA F1 doctors. The obligatory Extrication Practice went well, with the Aussie team earning praise for being well under the mark. F1 has a programmable test dummy controlled with a remote held by the F1 Medical Director. The worst case scenario exercise included the dummy having cardiac arrest. Another Extrication Practice went on in the Lotus garage.

F1 Stewards are required to have a FIA Super Licence, which is granted based on experience. This year Drivers/Ex Drivers will be included in the four FIA F1 Stewards at each Grand Prix. Three stewards are nominated by FIA, while the ASN for each race (CAMS at AGP) nominate the fourth. In Melbourne, the local steward is STEVE CHOPPING, who will work with GERD ENNSER of Germany; and PAUL GUTJAHR of Switzerland; along with current driver/eight-time Le Mans winner, TOM KRISTENSEN of Denmark.

The 2010 FIA F1 plan is have a core of eight stewards who work five races each, and two races apiece for the ex-drivers.

The former driver panel includes RENE ARNOUX of France; GIL de FERRAN of Brazil; EMERSON FITTIPALDI of Brazil; HEINZ-HARALD FRENTZEN of Germany; JOHNNY HERBERT of England; DAMON HILL of England, who will officiate at Monaco; ALAIN PROST of France, who worked Bahrain; DEREK WARWICK of Great Britain; and ALEX WURZ of Austria, assigned to the China race. DANNY SULLIVAN of USA, has been in discussions with FIA and is keen on the idea, while another American, F1 Champion, MARIO ANDRETTI, hasn’t expressed interest. Conflicts of interest with current TV gigs prevent inclusion MARC SURER of Switzerland or PATRICK TAMBAY of France.

Another beautiful sunny warm day at Albert Park in Melbourne making ready for the Qantas Formula One Australian Grand Prix. The F1 teams continue to unload and unpack. More bits and pieces of race cars began to appear. The Mercedes team seemed alone in doing nothing. Its large distinctive packing crates remained unmoved, unopened and untouched. They must know something the rest don’t know.

Current V8 Supercars points leader, JAMIE WHINCUP of the Triple 8 Holden team had fun driving one of JENSON BUTTON’s F1 car around the track. How sweet the sound! The drivers swapped cars for the four laps, a la Tradin’ Paint at Indianapolis Motor Speedway years ago with JEFF GORDON and JPM when he was still racing F1.

APP Corporation, the new engineering construction company hired by the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, has been making some changes while building the circuit. This year all the offices dealing with the National Support categories are housed with their series – a long far way from the F1 paddock. The only support series cars to have arrived so far are a few of the fabulous Shannon’s Historic Demonstration cars. They each are housed in a tent suitably labeled with owner and car information. When all is in place, it will be worth the hike.

One of the hardest working groups of the many CAMS volunteer race officials was the A Team, busy hustling needs and necessities for the marshals and putting things together. This is one team unique to AGP, named after the TV show about misfits pulling off impossible tasks. They are a favorite of BERNIE ECCLESTONE and one year had their very own A Team Formula One tabards.

They are known as merry pranksters and have pulled off many varied and clever tricks, the stuff of which legends are made. Even Bernie has been on the receiving end.

One serious task they pulled off in Adelaide was helping the Williams F1 team. Its engines were delayed and arrived the day before the cars took to the track. None of the other teams would loan Williams their fork lifts, so the A Team muscled the crates into place and NIGEL MANSEL and NELSON PIQUET got on track as scheduled. This especially annoyed rivals Ferrari and McLaren. One of the team’s grateful sponsors, Beltin Beer of Germany, suitably rewarded the crew.

Wednesday will be a very busy day at the track. In addition to the new Mercedes road car doing laps and FIA Track Inspection, the Medical Team will be doing several exercises including a full worse-case scenario. The Senior race officials will be holding their pre-race briefings. New things are in store. Stay tuned.