Australia 2008: Pre-Race Updates

For those brave enough to stay up until the unearthly hours of the morning, or to those who wisely got some shut-eye earlier in the day, here are a few updates to take note of during the upcoming Australian Grand Prix.

Adrian Sutil will be starting from the pitlane having damaged the underside of his chassis during qualifying yesterday. The German spun over the kerbs and Force India have had to rebuild his car for the race. As Sutil was ony meant to start from nineteenth his punishment isn’t too bad, although the rules state that he can only leave the pitlane once all the cars have passed, effectively making Sutil last at the start of the first lap.

Timo Glock has received a couple of penalties, something he doesn’t fully agree with. His gearbox had to be replaced just prior to qualifying, meaning a five-place grid-slot penalty landed his way. And then after qualifying, the stewards awarded the German with another five-place demotion for impeding Mark Webber.

Glock wasn’t the only driver facing the stewards though, as Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button were asked to explain why they set quick laps while the yellow flags were waving. The four escaped with only a reprimand though and will start in their qualifying positions.

And for those watching the race with the a computer to hand, you might want to check out F1Fanatics live blogging of the event. Fellow blogger Keith has organised a way for people to converse while the action is happening on the track. Along with Duncan from vee8, I’ll be helping Keith out with the show and judging from the qualifying event, it should be a lot of fun. You don’t need to sign up for an account or anything, just head on over, type your name into the box and start talking with like-minded fans. Details are below.

That’s just about it. The pre-punished grid can be seen here. Just remember Sutil is starting from the pitlane and Glock is now in nineteenth. Hopefully I’ll see you all an hour or so. I’m off to warm up the espresso maker and get comfy on the sofa.