First practice times from Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, Melbourne:
1. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari one minute 26.461 seconds
2. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.948
3. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 1:26.958
4. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1:27.114
5. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:28.263
6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:28.360
7. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:28.579
8. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:28.913
9. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:28.957
10. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:29.014
11. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:29.124
12. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari 1:29.230
13. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 1:29.301
14. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:29.363
15. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 1:29.533
16. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:29.561
17. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 1:30.155
18. Nelson Piquet Jr (Brz) Renault 1:30.357
19. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 1:31.048
20. Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri-Honda 1:31.771
21. Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams-Toyota 1:35.053
22. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota no time

Second Session

1. Hamilton 1:26.559
2. Webber 1:27.473
3. Massa 1:27.640
4. Kovalainen 1:27.683
5. Coulthard 1:28.037
6. Raikkonen 1:28.208
7. Trulli 1:28.292
8. Rosberg 1:28.352
9. Fisichella 1:28.469
10. Glock 1:28.582
11. Button 1:28.632
12. Heidfeld 1:28.731
13. Alonso 1:28.779
14. Barrichello 1:28.849
15. Kubica 1:28.860
16. Nakajima 1:29.077
17. Sutil 1:29.161
18. Vettel 1:29.193
19. Piquet Jr 1:29.581
20. Bourdais 1:29.605
21. Sato 1:30.663
22. Davidson 1:31.527

Follow live coverage of the Australian Grand Prix on 5 Live and bbc.co.uk/sport. Qualifying starts at 0300 GMT on Saturday with the race at 0430 on Sunday.

McLaren
22 Lewis Hamilton 23 Heikki Kovalainen
Testers: Pedro de la Rosa, Gary Paffett
No team in history has ever gone through as bruising a season as McLaren experienced in 2007. First there was the exhilaration of Lewis Hamilton’s early performances, and the on-track fight with Ferrari. Then came the ‘Stepneygate’ spy scandal, followed by internal strife between Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. It concluded with a US$100m fine, disqualification from the world championship for constructors, and Kimi Raikkonen pipping Hamilton and Alonso to the drivers’ title in the final race.

In theory, there should be the humiliation of a garage at the wrong end of the pit lane this year, but within McLaren right now there is no looking back. Everything is totally focused on one task, and one task only: winning. The team’s philosophy has always been to win every race; that’s the way to win championships.

In recent testing the MP4-23 set the pace, giving rise to optimism that Hamilton and his new team mate Heikki Kovalainen will be able to take the fight to Ferrari once more. Whether they have the necessary technical savvy, and the strength of character to get on with one another, remain but two of the fascinating aspects of this team’s battle for redemption.

Lewis Hamilton has claimed he and new McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen will compete on equal terms.
The 23-year-old had an intense struggle for supremacy with Fernando Alonso at McLaren last season but he has hinted that will not be case with Kovalainen. Hamilton told BBC Radio 5 Live: “We have been hired to win. Whichever driver does it, it doesn’t really matter - for the team at least. “We’re both in our second year and we have the same amount of experience.”

Source www.news.bbc.co.uk 

Jenson Button was upbeat about Honda’s early form in Melbourne after he ended both Friday practice sessions 11th fastest. The Brackley-based squad’s latest RA108 challenger was regularly towards the bottom of the timesheets during pre-season, but the team believes it made a step forward at its private Jerez test last week. And although not wanting to predict the team’s likely spot in the pecking order come qualifying, Button was pleased with how the first day of the new season went.
“Today has been a good day for us,” he said.

Honda
16 Jenson Button 17 Rubens Barrichello
Testers: Alex Wurz, Mike Conway, Luca Filippi
Honda made much of the power of dreams and their Earthdreams programme when they launched their eco-friendly Formula One car last year, but it proved to be an utterly disastrous season that brought the team to their knees. Jenson Button did a fantastic job to maintain his momentum as, for yet another year, he saw his genuine aspirations of mounting a championship challenge crumble the moment the first race started.

Testing times suggest that the new RA108, at least in its current guise, is not going to turn that trick for him either. Insiders say his first comments on the new car were unprintable. At the launch in late January, there was much evidence of brave smiles for the cameras to disguise an ongoing crisis.

But… nobody in the real world doubts that the presence of new team principal Ross Brawn will have a huge influence on the team’s development in the medium term. His record at Benetton and Ferrari speaks volumes, and this major asset will surely lead the team from the wilderness. It will, however, take time.

Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari set the initial pace as practice for the Australian Grand Prix opened today in Melbourne’s Albert Park, in 39 degrees Celsius ambient temperature and a healthy wind.
The first 45 minutes saw the Ferraris battling each other for fastest time, with Felipe Massa gaining that with 1m 27.524s ahead of Kimi Raikkonen 1m 27.709s. Behind them, the Toyotas looked quick, with Timo Glock on 1m 28.913s and Jarno Trulli 1m 29.014s.
Then the McLarens came out and Lewis Hamilton worked down to 1m 27.386s to go fastest. Right at the end Raikkonen did two laps quicker than that, the better of which was 1m 26.461s. That compared very favourably with his pole time of 1m 26.072s from last year despite the ban on traction control and engine braking.
Hamilton’s late response was 1m 26.948s, a difference of only 0.487s suggesting that the two teams are evenly matched. Heikki Kovalainen got off to a good start in the second MP4-23 with fourth fastest time of 1m 27.114s, just behind Massa, who had improved slightly to 1m 26.958s.

Mark Webber gave Red Bull a timely boost with a late fifth fastest run, of 1m 28.263s. That edged out Fernando Alonso, who got along well with the Renault R28 for 1m 28.360s. Robert Kubica was another late improver, lapping in 1m 28.579s in his BMW Sauber which bears distinctive nose fins atop the scuttle.

Glock’s 1m 28.913s stood up for eighth overall, with Sebastian Vettel pushing ahead of Trulli for the ninth best time. The German lapped his Toro Rosso in 1m 28.957s, beating the Italian’s 1m 29.014s.

Jenson Button looked better than expected in the Honda RA108 which he rowed round in 1m 29.124s for 11th ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella’s Force India (1m 29.230s), David Coulthard’s Red Bull (1m 29.301s), Sebastien Bourdais’ Toro Rosso (1m 29.363s), Rubens Barrichello’s Honda (1m 29.533s) and Nick Heidfeld’s BMW Sauber (1m 29.561s). Coulthard’s car expired in the pits with a smoking gearbox, while Heidfeld stopped out on the circuit at Turn 10.

Adrian Sutil was 17th for Force India on 1m 30.155s and Nelson Piquet 18th for Renault on 1m 30.357s. The young Brazilian rookie had a difficult morning, bringing out the red flag briefly after spinning and stalling.

The Super Aguris did not go out until the end, Takuma Sato working down to 1m 31.048s for 19th, comfortably ahead of Anthony Davidson’s 1m 31.771s.

It wasn’t a good morning for Williams; Kazuki Nakajima lapped his FW30 in 1m 35.053s for 21st, while technical problems prevented Nico Rosberg from doing more than just three installation laps.

Source www.f1.com

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone and Australian Grand Prix organisers are down undre for the 2008 showdown of the Melbourne Grand Prix. The future of the race down under is however, at stake.
The start time of the season first race has been pushed back to 0430 GMT this weekend and could start 90 minutes later (0600 GMT) in 2009.
But Ecclestone, who prefers a night race to satisfy European television audience, is unimpressed with the compromise.
“That’s not what we’re looking for. It needs to be a night race,” he said. “It would be nice if the race was on at midday or 2pm for European audiences, but I guess that would mean it starting in the middle of the night in Australia.
Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman Ron Walker said it would be impossible to stage a night race as the existing venue at Albert Park, on the fringes of downtown Melbourne, could not accommodate it.
“We’ve got 300 hectares of land here,” said Walker.”It’s just not lighting the track here, it’s lighting the whole park to protect our patrons.” The Melbourne race is also losing money. The 2007 event cost Australian taxpayers 35m Australian dollars (£16m) and A$40m (£18m) is expected to be spent on this weekend’s race.
It leaves the future of the Australian Grand Prix, which has three years remaining on its contract, in doubt.

Welcome to the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne’s Albert Park. The start of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship looks likely to enjoy fabulous weather. Forcast says it is due to be partly cloudy on Thursday with an ambient temperature high of 34 degrees Celsius, and that will be the story for the remaining three days, albeit with a rise from Friday to 36 degrees.
The 5.303 km (3.295 mile) circuit remains unchanged since Kimi Raikkonen put his Ferrari on pole position in 2007 in 1m 26.072s before winning the race from the McLarens of Fernando Alonso and debutant Lewis Hamilton.
The race will run over 58 laps or 307.574 kilometres. Start is at 15.30 local time (04.30 hours GMT).