F1 drivers get back up to speed

IT was the first serious hit-out of the season and the tension rose through yesterday's practice session for the F1 Grand Prix.

IT was the first serious hit-out of the season for drivers and teams and the tension rose through yesterday's practice session for tomorrow's Formula One Australian Grand Prix.

While corporate guests and paying punters enjoyed a carnival atmosphere at the Albert Park circuit, the drivers and their teams were hard at work.

Before the cars took to the track, mechanics and engineers sat along the pit lane watching the monitors analysing every burp and rumble of the cars still idling in their garages. What has worked for the teams in off-season testing does not necessarily work out on the racetrack.

When Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne locked up his front brakes and slid through one of his first corners, it was obvious he and others had some cobwebs to clear before tomorrow.

Even the backmarker teams are on budgets of $300 million to $400m a year. How galling it must be to see your sleek racer ploughing sideways through trackside grass like a piece of agricultural machinery.

The early going in practice was slow in cloudy and cool conditions. Australia's Daniel Ricciardo, also driving for Toro Rosso in his third F1 season, briefly held the fastest lap time.

A cheer went up from the die-hard fans who had come to see him and Red Bull's Mark Webber fly the local flag.

As the autumn sun broke through, the tyres began to heat up and soften, providing greater grip. Soon the lap times began to fall away. Within 15 minutes, Ricciardo's 1min 30.69sec was only the 18th fastest lap time. The leaderboard took on a familiar look, with reigning champion Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull the quickest of the first session.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso wasn't far behind, with Kimi Raikkonen in a Lotus looking competitive, despite a bizarre announcement from Twitter that the Finnish driver would be "tweeting at 350kph" over the weekend, hopefully not during the race.

The best seat in the house was in front of the television in a corporate box -- if you could afford it at premium prices of up to $5000 a ticket for the three days of the event.

The stench of burning rubber and the sound of screaming engines was the perfect accompaniment to fine wine and food being served.

But down on the track, it was serious business.