Lewis Hamilton poses for the traditional start-of-season driver mugshots as some photographers seek a different angle

Earlier in the day, the world champion and team-mate Heikki Kovalainen take part in a photocall with Aussie cricket legend Shane Warne

Kovalainen shows off his technique - clearly cover drives are not on the school curriculum in northern Finland

Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa come to terms with the endless round of media preview interviews

"If I hit him hard enough with this, all my troubles will be over". Red Bull team-mates Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel pose for obligatory beach photos

BMW's Robert Kubica, a keen poker player, gets some tips from champion Joe Hachem

Who's that? The Who, that's who. The legendary British rock group are in town to play a gig at Melbourne's Albert Park circuit as part of the pre-race celebrations.

Renault's two-time world champion Fernando Alonso shows his skills in a kick-about with Australian professional footballer Danny Allsop (out of shot).

McLaren's British world champion Lewis Hamilton visits a local hospital to meet victims of the recent bush fires which devastated parts of southern Victoria in February.

BMW Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld will not want to be caught on the hop when the season gets underway on Sunday. Here he is checking out some kangeroos at Melbourne Zoo.

Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi - the only rookie on the grid for 2009 - takes a timeout on Melbourne's tennis courts.

"Say eucalyptus!" One of Australia's world-famous koala manages to stay awake long enough to make the most of a rare opportunity to meet Force India driver Adrian Sutil.

There was no rest for Sutil who said goodbye to the koala and met up with Australian inline figure skater Kristen Slade