Photography and report from Melbourne by Geroge Darwent, for Atlas F1

Today was a grey, overcast day in Melbourne. But, despite the weather, the whole city was a buzz for one of the most popular sports had made their annual journey to our little corner of the world.

As the crowds poured into Albert Park on Thursday, they knew that they were not going to see any formula 1 action on that day, but they turned up nonetheless, hoping to perhaps catch a glimpse of their hero or of the machines that propel them at speeds in excess of 300 km/h.

We had been tipped off in previous years of a Formula 1 Drivers photo shoot, that only takes place once a year, and is accessible to the public. Having taken photos there last year I somewhat knew what to expect but I was still shocked to see the dedicated fans getting ready for the photo shoot at 11 am, when the shoot was scheduled for 2 pm.

By 12 noon the crowd was gathering numbers and we were met with several, 'What's happening here's and 'What time are the drivers coming out?' The professional photographers - that is, the FIA Photographers - setting up their equipment. All the major magazines were covered, as was every other motorsport publication you could think of.

Then the cars were reeled out to the scruteneering bay, hundreds of noses were pressed against the glass trying to get the slightest glimpse of a Formula 1 car. The tension was building, for we knew, that after the cars came through, the drivers would come.

2:02 pm, the hoards of photographers and spectators that had been waiting for the best part of 3 hours, finally got their first glimpse of the drivers. Tora Takagi was the first driver to make an appearance. Such is the popularity of Tora that the crowd went into a hushed silence and all you could hear was the clicks of cameras and flashbulbs going off at the rate of 500 per second. The FIA Officals had obviously planned and timed this meticulously so the drivers spend the absolute minimum amount of time in front of the cameras before they were whisked away to their private sanctuary commonly known as the F1 Paddock.

We went through the lesser drivers - Dela Rosa, Gene, Badour and more, with none signing autographs despite the desperate pleas of the crowd. Finally the big names came out, the first making an appearance was Damon Hill, who was in quite a jovial mood. He made faces for the cameras, and actually looked somewhat human, not like an FIA propelled robot as the other drivers did. Hill was the first to satisfy the fans hunger for an elusive autograph and he signed everything that was thrown at him and acknoleged the crowd, even those above him yelling 'DAMIEN, DAMIEN' (too much drink too early I think).

A buzz ran through the crowd of mostly Villeneuve supporters. "It's JACK, it's JACK," they cried. They were of course quickly corrected by the most fanatical supporters. "Erm...excuse me, it's pronounced Jacques." Sure enough, Villeneuve entered, this year looking much more like a human being rather than some kind of creature from another planet. Somebody must have taught him how to shave...

He pleased the crowd also by singing autographs and having a few words to some of his fans before scampering out under the FIA's orders, ie No driver may spend more than 30 seconds with his fans over the course of a Grand Prix weekend.

The rest of the photo shoot was basically a Formula 1 rolecall. Out came the likes of Coulthard, Frentzen, Alesi, Herbert, etc. with little excitement or enthusiasm due to the FIA letting them have about as much charisma as a brick on steroids.

Hakkinen was of course, absolutely beset with hundreds of photographers the minute he stepped anywhere near the photo shoot, and the FIA Offical could be seen ripping his hair out at the prospect of having to let Hakkinen spend 30 seconds longer signing autographs and posing for photos.

The last of the big names, but certainly not the least was Michael Schumacher. People say he is arrogant, but if lots of confidence is a bad thing then no one will even touch Schumacher. The man has a presence about him, he exudes confidence, you get the feeling he has done this millions of times before while the other drivers are like tiny mice trying to escape the clutches of the worlds media.

Schumacher will control the hoards of photographers, he looks in all the right places, so everyone gets their shot, then calmly meets his fans and of course provides autographs to everyone that requests one. He is the ultimate professional.

Overall, a photo shoot is great fun to attend. That is, if security is not too tight, and not too many people know about it. The thing that is to be gained from this is that the fans should be given more opportunity to meet their heroes, because 22 minutes on a thursday afternoon during one grand prix of the year is certainly not enough.

All pictures from today's photoshoot, can be found on http://ontheedge.simplenet.com