The first F1 round of the 2007 season kicked off on Thursday 15^th of March. The day started of with the usual press conferences and driver appearances. Then from midday the drivers have their portraits taken by the world’s media. A small area is set up behind the pit complex, and photographers gather at least one hour prior to get the best vantage points. The drivers have a 3 hour time frame to have their portraits taken. Once it gets under way it sounds more like a red carpet event as photographers call out for the driver to look their way.

On the Friday morning dark clouds and rain greeted the F1 drivers as they headed out for the first practice session. The new drivers headed out immediately pit lane opened so as to familiarise themselves to the track, and put in some laps. Towards the end of the session the bigger name drivers headed out, but only for a handful of laps.

On the Saturday qualifying the sun finally broke, as the qualifying format separated the faster drivers from the rest of the field. The biggest surprise of the day was by Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain who had the fastest time for a few minutes, before the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen took pole position.

The race day start saw Kimi Raikkonen take the lead and he kept it untill the end of the race. He was never threatened and won the race easily. I covered the start of the race at turn 3 before heading over to turns 4 and 5. I then headed back to the start finish line to get the finish picture you see here.

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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 15: Fernando Alonso of Spain and McLaren Mercedes is surrounded by photographers as he poses during the pre-season drivers photocall ahead of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at the Albert Park Circuit on March 15, 2007 in Melbourne, Australia. The Australian Formula One Grand Prix, the first of the new season, takes place on March 18, 2007.

Well, it’s that time of year again, as the FI circus comes to Melbourne. This year will be the first time since 1991 that Michael Schumacher’s name will not appear on the starting list. This year also brings with it new rules, new teams, new drivers and the return of the slick tyre.

As this is the first race of the year, in terms of photography, it is one of the busiest as we have to shoot stock imagery of all of the drivers and cars for a variety of clients. We always plan ahead as to what parts of the track we cover to get the best possible pictures of the cars and scenery. I can’t wait until Friday morning when the ear splitting sound of the F1 engines roars to life. Bring it on!

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Spectators climb the fence on the pit straight after the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at the Albert Park Circuit on April 2, 2006. Fans will storm the track straight after the race to get the best vantage point of seeing their heroes on the podium.

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Fernando Alonso of Spain is lifted onto the shoulders of the Renault team principal of Flavio Briatore (R) as they celebrate winning the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at the Albert Park Circuit on April 2, 2006.

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Fernando Alonso of Spain drives his Renault - a blur of speed - as he makes his way onto the main straight during qualifying prior to the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at the Albert Park Circuit on April 1, 2006. On the final corner some of the cars are only inches away from the wall, in fact Schumacher hit the wall last year. You can feel the rust of air as the cars fly by.

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Fernando Alonso of Spain and the Renault team is pictured in the pit paddock prior to the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at the Albert Park Circuit on March 30, 2006. The pit paddock is always a hive of activity, and is a good place to shoot portraits of the drivers and team members as they relax in the paddock complex. Celebrities can also be seen in the paddock as they mingle with the drivers.

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The city of Melbourne makes a great back drop during the 2006 Australian Grand Prix.

Since Monza, everybody is talking about one thing only in the Formula 1 paddock - Michael Schumacher´s retirement after the end of season. Everybody is asking if he going to make it to win the 8th Championship during the Chinese F1 Grand Prix.

It was just crazy! Wherever Schumacher appeared there were swarms of photographers, cameramen, journalists and fans in tow. In the paddock, he didn’t venture from his motor home very much so it was difficult to shoot many pictures of him, so I decided to concentrate my efforts on Sunday – the race day.

This race was one of the best I remember. Alonso, the number one rival of Schumacher for the Championship started from pole position followed by his team mate Giancarlo Fisichella. Schumacher was in position six due to wet weather conditions in the qualifying rounds.

After about 25 laps of the race, there was about a 25-second gap between the leader, Alonso and Schumacher – a few positions behind him. Alonso seemed to have the win in the bag. But, as the track dried up, Schumacher came to life and overtook everybody, including Alonso.

There was a special atmosphere in the paddock that day - we were living through an historical moment and every picture taken of Schumacher will have a strong meaning. It was a great feeling to be part of such a momentous occasion, capturing one of the biggest sportsmen of our time. And, it’s definitely one which will certainly be remembered for the rest of my photography career.

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Getty Images Sports Blogger and Photographer Vladimir Rys

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Michael Schumacher of Germany and Ferrari celebrates with his team after winning the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit on October 1, 2006 in Shanghai, China.

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Chinese fans present banners supporting Michael Schumacher of Germany and Ferrari as he steps out of his car prior to the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit on October 1, 2006 in Shanghai, China.