Got up really early and had a shower. Back in the room, Nolene was also up and gave me a lesson in how to put on compression stockings using a stocking aid - it was hilarious! She showed me the device and the stocking, told me about why she needed such stockings, then gave me a demonstration in how to use this contraption to put them on. I think she was going to offer me a try, but I got dressed pretty quick before she had the chance! I was sorry to hear that her and Linda were checking out, I think they could have been a good crack.
Once ready, we headed into town, picked up a Subway for lunch, then I stopped for a quick Starbucks whilst Andrew bought a radio. We jumped on a tram and headed to the track, locating our spot on the hill of corner 10. Even though we had gotten there really early, the hill was already incredibly full so we were lucky to get a good patch.
After the chillyness of yesterday I had worn jeans, but soon enough it was quite warm, despite the overcast sky, so I changed into my Aussie shorts. The weather changed continuously, one second drizzle, the next nothing, constantly on and off - I even had to get the umbrella out at one point!
We watched some different races and I curled up and had a sleep, waking up every now and again to see what cars were going past! I decided to watch the Mini race, which was quite good with a few spins etc on the wet ground. The V8 race was also full of spins, skids and a few bumps here and there, which made for entertaining viewing. The Australian Army Blackhawk helicopter display was good too - although it is a bit like having deja-vu as I have seen them several times now!
There were a couple of parades, where people I don't know were driven around the track in cars, waving out of the window. I waved back with everyone else, as it was the polite thing to do!
The roar of the F/A18 Jet punctured the air and again, another deja-vu experience, although one that never gets dull - this aircraft is very impressive indeed, and very loud too! On the screen we watched the presenters going around the pit lane, chatting to various drivers and showing the general hub-ub of the pre-race antics in the pits.
Next was another impressive aircraft display - as everyone was just finishing singing the Australian national anthem, the immense bulk of a plane flew low over the field, the A380. Not as noisy as the F/A18, but a definite rumble nonetheless. It was flanked by a load of other little planes (I think they might have been the RAAF Roulettes) and it was quite surprising just how close together they were. They turned and flew back over, then the little planes all pulled away from the A380 and did some spins. It was really cool.
This signalled the fact that the 2010 F1 Quantas Australian Grand Prix was about to begin. There was much excitement on the hill and everyone stood up in anticipation. We watched the screen and when the starting lights went out, everyone cheered!
The race itself was really exciting and the constant on/off drizzle certainly added a lot of drama to the event. At least it wasn't cold like yesterday and the rain didn't really make a difference to spectating. The position we had from the hill meant we saw several cars slide off the track and into the gravel, plus a few near-misses. The straight that followed our corner seemed to be where quite a lot of overtaking (and a couple of crashes) took place, so it was great seeing them jostling in front of us to try and get into position just before they made their attempt.
There was much cheering whenever the favourites went past (Webber, Button, Hamilton and Schumacher), this did not dwindle throughout the race. There were major cheers when Vettel went off! It was nice seeing everyone genuinely wanting Webber to win! As the race was drawing close to finishing and there was the tussle between Webber and Hamilton, the atmosphere and cheers got even more intense, they went past our hill and very shortly afterwards had their clip which ruined it for both of them. The crowd were exasperated! Even so, as Button crossed the line, the cheers were again resounding across the hill and for as far as I couls see and hear!
As they did their final parade lap at the end, they drove real slow (well comparably!), waving as they went - our hill had lots of Union Flags flying so Button slowed down and gave our hill a really good wave! It was very cool indeed!
Once they had done the champagne shower, the safety car went past which signalled that we could go on the track. Many people clambered over the barrier and onto the hallowed ground, we followed suit and walked around the track, all the way to the starting grid and pit lane. Along the way, a convoy of trucks went past, each with a very battered looking F1 car on the back, looking very sorry for itself! As I walked, I looked for 'marbles', once I knew what they were, I realised that there were indeed a lot of them about!
We had a look down the pit lane and saw them wheeling cars about. We then went onto the starting grid and wandered around. There was a massive crowd at one point, so I figured there must be something interesting going on, so I investigated. Lots of people were crowding round a guy and having their photo taken with him. I didn't know who he was but figured it must be a driver and so managed to get my photo taken with him too before he was whisked off. I am reliably informed that it was Nico Hulkenberg who drives for Williams! I don't know how impressive that is, but you can see how excited I was at the time - certainly caught up in the moment! We had another look at the pits, this time from a bit closer but there was not a lot going on.
Next we headed over to where the concert was going on, again were underwhelmed by the first band, so went for another wander, before heading back over to watch the headliners - Simple Minds. They had pulled a major crowd, but we were not particularly fussed about watching them and also it had started to rain again, so figured it would be best to start making tracks - obviously there were a lot more people to transport today and we were not sure how long it would take to get a tram.
It wasn't too bad getting away from the circuit and once back in the city, we headed to Chinatown and had some dinner before making our way back to the hostel, totally shattered and surprisingly not deafened by all the noise of the last four days. I decided that F1 is indeed cool to watch in action... hmmmm - where next?!?
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