The entire F1 paddock has now relocated itself to Melbourne ahead of the opening GP of the season at the Albert Park F1 circuit in Melbourne, Australia this weekend. In case you’re not able to make it there yourself in time for the race, Google Street View has made it possible for you to feel like you’re a part of things anyway by taking a virtual lap of the Albert Park circuit.

More F1 news to help you prepare for the opening round of the season after the jump!

After more than a little dispute, the FIA have deferred their proposed new Drivers’ Championship points system until at least the 2010 season. So 2009 points will remain tallied as before amongst drivers, and that particular story arc in our F1 drama timeline remains a far-off speck on the horizon, for the time being.

What’s a much more immediate obstacle on the road to a smooth 2009 season is  a big fight concerning the legality of the diffusers that Toyota, Williams, and Brawn GP are using on their 2009-spec cars. Flavio Briatore’s not happy about it, and he’s not exactly shy and retiring, so it’s certain this issue won’t be dying quietly. In fact, I’d go so far as to predict that you can look for this diffuser legality question to overtake any other news coming out of the Melbourne GP. That is, unless something catastrophic happens, such as a herd of angry, genetically-engineered sheep invading from New Zealand and overtaking the grandstands so that the race weekend has to be rescheduled.