Wet start expected for first practice session of 2012

2012 Australian Grand Prix weather

15th March 2012, 9:4414th March 2013, 17:33 | Written by Keith Collantine

With the first practice session of 2012 less than 24 hours away a band of heavy rain is passing across Melbourne, bringing thunder and lightning with it.

The rain is likely to persist into tomorrow and the may be some thunderstorms in the morning. This races the prospect of the track being wet during the first practice session.

On Saturday conditions should clear up, though there remains the chance of a couple of showers in the morning. However as the final practice session does not start until 2pm local time there is a good chance it will be unaffected.

The first race of the year on Sunday is expected to by dry, with temperatures in the mid-twenties.

As in recent years the race starts at 5pm. With sunset expected at 7:35pm, light levels will be low and visibility diminished towards the end of the race, especially if there is a delay due to a safety car.

Keep an eye on the progress of the rain with these weather radars for Albert Park, Melbourne:

Location of Albert Park, Melbourne

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Keith Collantine

Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...
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45 comments on “Wet start expected for first practice session of 2012”

BasCB (@bascb)
15th March 2012, 9:49
Lets hope for a dry qualifying, although having less grip during the race would not be a bad thing.
1. Mike (@mike)
  15th March 2012, 10:29
  As Albert Park is used as a normal road throughout the rest of the year, the grip is never that high to begin with. But yeah, I agree.
2. JCost (@jcost)
  15th March 2012, 13:31
  +1. Dry Q and Wet race would be awesome.
stars
15th March 2012, 9:49
Where is Kubica !!! : (
See the sensational polish blog about Robert Kubica. Excellent news.
http://mikemojaformula1pl.blogspot.com
Translator read
1. Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl)
  15th March 2012, 10:03
  This blog is pure BS. It was founded by 14 year old kid who pretends to be a “wine supplier” somewhere in Italy. He posts about seeing Ferraris near Kubica’s house, tests on Mugello which didn’t happen, he even puts fake images on the blog (he recently put an image of Massa from the Pirelli tests in Abu Dhabi, stating “a friend from Italy” gave it to him saying it was Kubica in F10 testing at Mugello). Moreover the kid censors the comments and frequently accuses professional journo’s (including Mikołaj Sokół, who is probably one of few well informed people regarding Kubica). His latest achievement was a conspiracy theory saying Mika Salo’s driving old F1 cars is just a cover for super-secret tests for Kubica and the Pole will be pretending to be the Finn. That’s what you should know about this blog :)
  1. Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl)
    15th March 2012, 10:27
    Oh, I forgot to mention. The kid in fact lives in Myślenice in southern Poland. He started his blog when he was exposed on http://robertscomeback.blogspot.com/. The owner of the blog did a background check on him when he was claiming he delivers wine in Italy, saw Robert, the Ferraris on his driveway etc. “Mike”, as he calls himself, is a laughing stock among Polish fans of Kubica. He was even caught posting comments on his own blog and responding to them anonymously.
    1. verstappen (@verstappen)
      15th March 2012, 10:40
      @cyclops_pl and who then is this Guy posting Kubica ‘news’ at every article here on F1F?
      1. verstappen (@verstappen)
        15th March 2012, 10:42
        I forgot: it does show dedication andfantasy…
      2. McLarenFanJamm (@mclarenfanjamm)
        15th March 2012, 10:45
        @verstappen probably the same guy who runs the blog. Not hard to post multiple times under different user names.
      3. Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl)
        15th March 2012, 10:48
        Yup, it was a common practice for him to post things anonymously pretending he has supporters. I’ve already seen 3 comments with link to this blog, so it’s becoming more and more evident it’s the same person.
      4. Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
        15th March 2012, 11:57
        And if the Polish fans aren’t buying into his little act, he’s obviously going to need a new audience, and so has settled on us.
2. Aberdeenstr.
  15th March 2012, 10:36
  What you write ? is a fantastic place for fans Robert Kubica.
  1. explosiveface (@explosiveface)
    15th March 2012, 11:24
    I don’t think you could be any more obvious. Stop.
3. terryfun
  15th March 2012, 11:35
  Kubica has a Ferrari, why not ?
  1. Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl)
    15th March 2012, 11:40
    He doesn’t, go away.
4. Miomore
  15th March 2012, 11:47
  I do not know the Polish language, but looks very cheerful and pleasant.
  I love Levis Hamilton, Kubica is ok
  1. Solo (@solo)
    15th March 2012, 12:15
    Who is this Levis Hamilton guy, lol?
    1. Jeanrien (@jeanrien)
      15th March 2012, 12:47
      The supplier for the jeans they wear in the McLaren paddock ^^ You don’t know anything … =)
SouthAussie94 (@mpj1994)
15th March 2012, 9:49
If the storms predicted for Melbourne are anything like Adelaide has had in the past 24 hours then the teams should prepare for a hammering! We had our average March rainfall in the space of a few hours, 100km/h winds and hail stones.
Here’s hoping its clear for the race
Scottie (@scottie)
15th March 2012, 9:50
if anyone’s interested, a good site for melbourne (and australian weather) is weatherzone.com.au
1. McLarenFanJamm (@mclarenfanjamm)
  15th March 2012, 9:53
  @scottie There’s already a link in the article ;)
  1. Scottie (@scottie)
    15th March 2012, 10:14
    lol, didn’t notice the links at the bottom! thx @McLarenFanJamm
    1. ivz (@ivz)
      15th March 2012, 10:42
      Melbourne is currently getting a downpour at 9:30pm Thursday local time by the looks
      http://www.weatherzone.com.au/radar/vic
      But if you want to know what is possible 12 to 24 hours ahead, this gives a good indication
      http://www.weatherzone.com.au/radar/sa
      Most likely will be dry qualifying and race, but practice tomorrow could possibly be wet.
tandrews (@tomand95)
15th March 2012, 10:01
It’s raining outside now and i can hear lots of thunder, but hopefully the weather is good on the weekend for quali and the race. http://www.bom.gov.au/vic/forecasts/melbourne.shtml
1. Mike (@mike)
  15th March 2012, 10:31
  Same, it’s absolutely pouring at the moment.
GeorgeDaviesF1 (@georgedaviesf1)
15th March 2012, 10:21
2 things,
i) If its wet all race, race will definitely push the 2 hour limits
ii) If its wet in Oz, then also in Malaysia & China, Bahrain gets cancelled without replacement, it’ll be Spain by the time we see whereabouts everyone is at
1. davros
  15th March 2012, 10:27
  race will go over 2 hours if wet because it seems you need to run the cars behind the safety car in wet conditions these days.
  1. GeorgeDaviesF1 (@georgedaviesf1)
    15th March 2012, 11:57
    True, full wet tyres is becoming more and more obsolete, Singapore in the wet would be interesting, I reckon 40 odd laps
2. timi (@timi)
  15th March 2012, 12:02
  Haha how on earth can you predict the weather in countries over 2 weeks in the future, based on the weather forecast for australia?!?
  What have you been smoking?
  1. JCost (@jcost)
    15th March 2012, 13:36
    “over 2 weeks in the future” LOL!
    1. timi (@timi)
      15th March 2012, 16:19
      @jcost I don’t get the joke :s. The races he mentioned, namely Malaysia and China are over two weeks in the future..
3. Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
  15th March 2012, 15:38
  Unlikely, but what would happen if there was a full on rain stoppage like Canada last year? If the sun sets at 7.35pm, the “4 hour maximum limit” would take us up to 9pm!
John H (@john-h)
15th March 2012, 10:51
Please no safety car start to the season. Come rain or shine, that’s all I wish for this weekend.
verstappen (@verstappen)
15th March 2012, 10:55
Wet practices make things more difficult so I like that. As long as the helicopter can take off and the track remains open. But to get a feel for the order, a dry race is best. However I can live with not knowing the real order if we have surprising podia.
1. Jeanrien (@jeanrien)
  15th March 2012, 12:52
  The wet is just to make the prediction champ a bit tougher ^^ (http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/predictions-championship/)
  A way to have a fun race, would be if it starts with wet track but no rain, as we would have changing condition and we could expect some show (but surely won’t be representative of the strength of every car, and probably a call for Button)
soundscape (@)
15th March 2012, 11:57
Found an error Keith:
“This races the prospect of the track being wet during the first practice session.”
Kind of a fun mistake to make though. :P
scribbler (@scribbler)
15th March 2012, 12:35
I used to love wet races, historically these were always the most eventful and entertaining. But now its become so rapped in cotton wool afair its almost no point watching a procession after the safety car. I think they should just let them race. Those that think its not safe will pit and stay there those willing to take a risk will do so for the potential of huge gains. I think there is a fine art to coasting round whilst intermitently aquaplaning and it should be part of an elite drivers arsenal. I remember a few years back at silverstone watching hamilton effortlessly drive round in the wet whilst Raikonen and Massa were spining off left right and centre. Ok its dangerous but thats part of the reason i watch F1.
1. Anonamooooose
  15th March 2012, 13:32
  Couldn’t agree more. The fact is, formula 1 is pretty damn safe these days (just remember Webber’s brutal crash in Vilencia 2010, in which he just got out of the car straight away). Furthermore, in wet conditions the speeds of the cars are reduced dramatically so the chances of a collision with the wall being fatal are very low. With DRS trying to improve the spectacle of formula one I have no idea why they are compensating this with dull wet races, when they should be the most entertaining. Hoping for dry qually this weekend though. The race I don’t mind whatever the conditions.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
15th March 2012, 13:31
Well it looks like the rain won’t be making an appearance come qualifying so that keeps me happy.
Mouse_Nightshirt (@mouse_nightshirt)
15th March 2012, 13:46
Is it just me, or would I actually prefer the race was live in the UK at 2am? I could watch it, then go back to bed.
With Bernie’s timeshifting escapades, I now watch it at 6am, then have to go back to bed at 9ish, when it’s light, making it much harder for me to get back to sleep and also losing a chunk of the afternoon too.
1. Shaun Robinson (@)
  15th March 2012, 16:06
  I don’t have sky myself, but can’t you either record it on sky+ or, if they offer it, watch a replay of the live race later on? I’m interested to know if they are showing replays later on in the day at more respectible times.
  1. f1alex (@f1alex)
    15th March 2012, 22:24
    Yeah, Sky are showing reruns pretty much throughout the day by the looks of it…
2. fyujj
  15th March 2012, 17:51
  Bernie wants it to be a night-race like Sing. That would be the best in terms of time.
  Now the race is 3 am in Brazil.
3. sato113 (@sato113)
  15th March 2012, 22:03
  same. i could easily watch a race from 1am til 2.30. bed by 3am.
Blackmamba (@blackmamba)
15th March 2012, 15:41
if last season is anything to go by, then wet practice simply means limited to no running at all. Teams do not want to risk crashing the cars just before a race.
So any running at all would be very conservative and boring. I really do enjoy free practice but you cant if there is little action on track!
So lets hope the weather gives us at least one dry session.