Ahead of the first of this weekend's two qualifying sessions, the air temperature is 15 degrees C, while the track temperature is 18 degrees C.

Thankfully the rain has stopped however the track is still very wet.

First out today will be Christijan Albers, followed by fellow rookies Patrick Friesacher, Narain Karthikeyan and Tiago Monteiro. Last out will be Brazil GP winner Juan Pablo Montoya.

At 14:00 precisely Christijan leaves the Minardi garage, to begin his 'out' lap. As he laps the Albert Park track his car throws up a lot of water, it's very, very damp.

The car's all over the place, very much out of shape under braking for the first corner. At the first split it's 37.019, the Dutchman simply happy to keep his car on the 'black stuff'. At the second split it's 1:05.278, followed by a 1:49.230 at the line. A good performance given the conditions and his limited running this weekend.

Teammate Friesacher is next out. At the first split the Austrian posts 37.649, he's down on Albers. He's really fighting the car, as he completes the second sector in 1:06.084. At the line it's 1:50.864, he's 1.6s down on Albers.

India's hopes rest on the next man Narain Karthikeyan. At the first split the Jordan driver posts 35.009, he's 2s up on Albers. The car looks awful, really nervous, as he completes the second sector in 1:02.347. He stops the clock at 1:44.357, almost 5s faster than Albers.

Monteiro is the last of the rookies to run. At the first split it's 36.612, he's already over 1s down on his Jordan teammate. At the second split it's 1:04.397, as he loses more time. A 1:46.846 sees him go second, 2.489s down on Karthikeyan.

Next out is Jenson button, who was the first retirement at Interlagos. This is not a good time to be going out. At the first split the Englishman posts 34.764, he's only 0.245s up on Karthikeyan. At the second split it's 1:00.879, he's now over a second up on the Indian. At the line it's 1:41.512, he's quickest by 2.845.

At the first break it's Button, Karthikeyan, Monteiro, Albers and Friesacher.

The sun is shining and the track is visibly drying, which will favour those drivers coming out last, Alonso, Barrichello, Raikkonen and Montoya.

Nick Heidfeld leaves the WilliamsF1 garage to begin his first qualifying session for the Grove outfit. He's really fighting the car, completing the first sector in 33.207, over 1.5s up on Button. At the second split it's 59.555, but he then goes wide running over the grass. At the line it's 1:39.717, he still quickest by 1.7s despite the 'off'.

Teammate Mark Webber is next out. At the first split the Australian posts 32.141, he's over a second up on his teammate. At the second split it's 58.118, he's now 1.4s up on the German. It's a strong, totally focussed performance that sees the WiliamsF1 driver go quickest with a 1:36.717, exactly 3s quicker than Heidfeld.

Webber's former teammate Christian Klien is on track in the Red Bull. At the first split it's 32.454, he's only 0.3s down on Webber. At the second split it's 58.383, he's still only around 0.2s off the pace. He crosses the line at 1:37.486, missing provisional pole by 0.769s.