Melbourne, 28 March

Rain has made an appearance during this long wait in the Albert Park paddock. All morning, the sky has been overcast and around 1 o’clock, a few drops began to fall. The latest forecast is for a high chance of light rain around 6, which should coincide with the crucial stages of the race. Rain will make for increased uncertainty and raise the chances of seeing the Safety Car, which is a regular feature at this track. Furthermore, if the rain is the same strength as it was on Friday afternoon, it will be very difficult to make the right tyre choice: the intermediates run the risk of rapid deterioration, while the slicks really struggle to get up to temperature which, added to a slippery track, especially the white lines from the normal road markings, could really kick off a festival of slipping and sliding.

Overall therefore, it’s best to hope for a dry race or, if not, a very wet one: Fernando and Felipe both have a strong chance of getting a good result and it would be a shame to see it slip from our grasp because of a rain shower at just the wrong moment…