With less than 24 hours to go before the 2002 Formula One World Championship bursts into life with Friday's practice sessions, all the teams, drivers and management personnel have finally gathered at Melbourne's Albert Park. Under dull skies and in cool conditions the new cars, liveries and driver line-ups are finally open to the scrutiny of the world's media, with the Australian-owned Minardi team and local hero Mark Webber dominating much of the headlines to give the tiny team a level of exposure seldom seen in its history.
The Toyota team is also generating significant interest bringing to a close two years of preparation and adding their promotional weight to Formula One. Up and down the pit lane there are new faces and familiar faces in new roles. Jarno Trulli arrived looking fit and fresh, dropping by the DHL Jordan Honda garage to warmly greet Eddie Jordan and other members of the team, before walking on down to the Renault pit. Giancarlo Fisichella meanwhile attracted significant attention when he arrived at the track fresh from unveiling Honda's revised NSX sports car at the Melbourne Motor Show.
There is a palpable start-of-term atmosphere in the paddock, old friends and rivals greeting one another, renewing friendships, carrying out the usual series of interviews with a media contingent hungry for the season to start. All the speculation and guesswork of who will be competitive, who is in trouble, which drivers, cars and engines will work, and which won't, will end when tomorrow's 11am practice session begins. Another year of Formula One will be underway.