2013 Australian Grand Prix: Thursday

It's been a long and exciting day here in Melbourne and admittedly I am on the verge of passing out. Although the Formula 1 cars don't make their way onto the track for the first time until tomorrow, the Albert Park circuit opened its doors this morning and I was there to capture all of the action.

The following are some of my photographs and observations from a very intense Thursday at the Australian Grand Prix:

Thousands of fans crushed themselves into a very full pit lane at nine in the morning. Funnily enough I was able to get a front row seat at Ferrari as Australian fans flocked to Red Bull in the hopes of catching a glimpse of Mark Webber.

Ferrari's chief designer Nicholas Tombazis seemed quite taken with the new McLaren.

Ferrari spent a decent portion of time studying the rear of Fernando Alonso's car and then practicing pit stops in the afternoon. Is it just me or does one of the mechanics look almost exactly like Stefano Domenicali? A group of guys standing near me certainly thought so and kept chanting "STEFANO!" to the poor man who was obliviously trying to do his job.

Kimi Raikkonen was as cool as ever. The iceman seemed almost pained to sign various items for his fans at a obligatory autograph session in Albert Park. I can't say that I blame him really, the whole area resembled a large cattle pen, with fans jostling for position and thrusting all manner of things, including a can of deodorant in his direction. Ever the professional, Kimi signed it all at a blistering speed and only cracked a tiny smile when an over-excited female admirer exclaimed "Kimi! I love you, I'm a huge fan!"

McLaren newbie Sergio Perez loved the autograph stage and even performed a crazy dance, which Jenson Button labelled as "sexy", for the assembled crowd. The two drivers seem to genuinely get along well, let's hope that Sergio doesn't become too jaded by fame.

David Coulthard treated me to a little show when his Red Bull exited the pit lane right where I was standing. Unfortunately security was trying to kick me out but at least I managed to get a few decent pictures before having to leave.

A beautiful view of the pit lane exit courtesy of a case of mistaken identity.

A large selection of historic cars was on display to the public.

I hope that you enjoyed this first view of the Australian Grand Prix. Rest assured that I will post more photographs in the coming days.

Formula 1 Arrives in Melbourne

It's another gorgeous day in Melbourne and the start of the 2013 Formula 1 season is just days away! Making the headlines this past week was Lewis Hamilton, who managed to secure a paddock pass for his beloved dog. No, I'm not talking about Nicole (oooh that was low!) but rather his new best friend and 'chillaxing' partner Roscoe the bulldog. Hamilton and presumably Roscoe landed in Melbourne recently and the Mercedes star couldn't resist posting this beautiful picture on his twitter account

https://twitter.com/LewisHamilton/status/310851216349483010/photo/1 adding that he was off for a 6am run. While not as scandalous as a post about his team mate's telemetry data, surely the revelation that he and possibly the entire Mercedes team are staying at either the Hilton or Crown Casino is enough to warrant a scolding from Ross Brawn. 

Other drivers have also been tweeting about their arrivals in the city or posting photos from their epic voyages to get here. Fernando Alonso tweeted this artistic snap en route to Australia http://instagram.com/p/WsCsy4Qak6/ and Sauber's latest Mexican recruit, Esteban Gutierrez, took part in a predictable photo shoot involving some kangaroos. http://instagram.com/p/Wp9daWOw90/ 

Jenson Button seemed to have the same idea as I did yesterday, enjoying a spot of beach training in the scorching temperatures 

and Nico Hulkenberg expressed his wish to make it past the first corner on Sunday! 

Notably absent from the Twitter posting frenzy was Kimi Raikkonen, who was probably asleep after eating one too many ice cream sandwiches in a first class cabin somewhere over the Pacific. 

Last but not least was Adrian Sutil. Back on the grid this year after being shunned in the wake of an assault conviction, Sutil still seems to harbor more than a little bit of resentment towards one time friend Lewis Hamilton. Last year I reported that when Hamilton refused to testify at Sutil's court case he had also apparently changed his phone number presumably to avoid confrontation with the bitter German . 

Now that the ghost of glassings past has come back to haunt the British driver, it seems that Hamilton is eager to bury the hatchet. "I have emailed Adrian a couple of times" a needy-sounding Lewis stated " I emailed him a while ago because I heard there was a chance he could get the seat. I just said that I had said a prayer for him, that I really hoped he got the seat because he deserved it and that I really hoped to see him back in Formula 1. I also emailed him on the way here as soon as I found out and congratulated him. I haven't heard back from him but I'm sure at some stage we will get to talk." For his part, Sutil doesn't seem quite as keen. "We have no relationship at the moment. I never saw him, I never spoke to him. I will meet up with him but I don't know what will happen." Oh to be a fly on that wall!