Race day dawns to grey Melbourne skies - and film star John Travolta confirms his A-list status by being given the lead car in the driver parade
Travolta, who posed with local hero Mark Webber on Saturday, checks in with F1's biggest fish on Sunday, posing for photographers with Michael Schumacher, who starts the race in seventh place
No prizes for guessing who these guys will be cheering - although they've made themselves prime targets for a bit of good-natured ribbing from the locals
Mulit-Olympic gold medallist Ian Thorpe (centre) is also in Melbourne to visit Vitaly Petrov and Robert Kubica in the Renault garage.
Drama right from the off in Melbourne - Michael Schumacher (right) goes off as Fernando Alonso (centre) spins on the first corner of the race.
Schumacher's front wing is damaged in the incident and he pits for a new one. But he fails to make the same progress through the field as Alonso and can finish only 10th
Competition is fierce between McLaren team-mates Lewis Hamilton (left) and Jenson Button (right) and Hamilton edges ahead on lap six
Button decides to come in for dry-weather tyres at the end of the lap, and the decision pays dividends. By the time the other leaders do the same two laps later, he is second behind Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel
Vettel begins to build a lead at the front, but he suffers a wheel failure on lap 26 and Button is left in the lead as a second consecutive victory slips through the German's fingers
Mark Webber's enthusiasm gets the better of him as he clashes with Lewis Hamilton, and it is the Australian who comes off worse.
It is another difficult race for the new teams - here Hispania's Karun Chandhok speeds over the gravel trap, but the Indian was able to recover and finish 14th and last
Alonso recovers superbly from his first-lap spin but after charging through the field his progress comes to a halt behind team-mate Felipe Massa, who holds the double world champion off to finish third
The Ferraris finish behind Robert Kubica's Renault. The Pole jumps up to third behind Vettel and Button as he stops for dry tyres with the other front-runners early on and holds the position in determined fashion despite the close attention of the Ferraris
Jenson Button's early decision to change tyres proves an inspired move as he romps to his first win in a McLaren car, with special guest John Travolta waving the chequered flag.
Jenson Button (centre) and girlfriend Jessica Michibata wear McLaren's post-victory shirts for the first time as they celebrate his win in Melbourne with team members.
What are these?
E-mail this to a friend 
Bookmark with:
What are these?