Always one to sniff out a celebratory soiree, The Mole gained entry into the post-Australian Grand Prix bash at Brawn HQ.
While the victorious Jenson Button was kept busy by a rigorous technical debrief with gaffer Ross Brawn, a small gathering raised a glass to the Briton's win.
Button's dad John was calming his nerves with a deserved glass of red wine after being put through the wringer for 58 laps.
American racing star Danica Patrick has been linked with a move to Formula 1 next season but could another female racer also be considering joining the grid?
Talented German Touring Car star Susie Stoddart has been spotted in the Albert Park paddock this week.
The Scot has been flown over by her German touring car championship team Mercedes-Benz and is being treated as a special guest of McLaren chairman Ron Dennis.
His Brawn Grand Prix team may well be tipped to get on to the top of the podium in Australia but the Mole understands Jenson Button was really feeling the heat in Friday's practice sessions.
A tiny hole in the Brawn cockpit left the Englishman exposed to some leaking heat from his radiator.
Unable to keep taking the heat in his sensitive regions, he had to leap out of his car.
Mole has been busy today and managed to unearth a sneak preview of the opening titles of BBC Sport' s Formula 1 TV coverage.
The title sequence uses the iconic track "The Chain", a song recorded in 1976 and released on Fleetwood Mac's best-selling album Rumours.
As fans will know, it was used as the theme song for BBC Sport's Grand Prix programme from 1978 until the end of 1996, when ITV Sport took over the rights. And now it's back. Here are the first few seconds of our new titles - see what you think...
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(The titles will first be played in full when F1 returns to BBC One for coverage of qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday 28 March. Coverage of qualifying starts at 0500 BST (BBC One/Red Button/5 Live sports extra/online). There will be a re-run at 1300 BST, BBC One.)
Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group is close to splashing some cash on the Brawn Grand Prix team.
Formula 1 fans may remember that Branson was linked to the former Honda team last month as a potential buyer before team principal Ross Brawn secured his own buy-out.
Now Branson's Virgin Group is understood to be on the verge of some form of investment.
G'day all. I've been digging around for all the latest gossip ahead of this weekend's season opener in Melbourne.
Who did Red Bull want as their back-up driver? Who will or will not be using the Kers power-boost system? And just who is sending out mixed messages over his future?
Red Bull driver Mark Webber took time out of his preparations for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix to visit the scene of the Australian bushfires.
Last month, the fires swept across the state of Victoria, home of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, and claimed more than 200 lives.
Webber drove an hour-and-a-half out of Melbourne to view the scarred landscape surrounding the town of Kinglake.
How do Formula 1's jet-setting drivers limber up for the strains of the first Australian Grand Prix of the season?
Despite a dose of four-seasons-in-one-day weather in host city Melbourne, the drivers found plenty of ways to get the blood pumping and brain cells working on Wednesday.
When the cars exit the pit lane for first practice at the Australian Grand Prix on Friday, one of the most keenly watched teams will be Toyota.
Rivals have been impressed by the pace of the new car this winter, Toyota's drivers Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock are reporting that it is nicely balanced, and it has had no major problems. Indeed, Toyota have made such progress throughout the winter that team boss John Howett has called the last few weeks "our best pre-season ever".
But, while the engine is strong, and Glock and Trulli are very capable, engineers from rival teams believe much of Toyota's speed comes from an ingenious interpretation of Formula 1's new technical regulations.
For all Formula 1's brashness and modernity, it is a sport that embraces its rich history.
Dotted around the paddock are a handful of stalwarts who have devoted their entire lives to F1, and who, by doing so, have become woven into the fabric of the sport.
One of those men is Tyler Alexander, one of the few members of the McLaren team to have worked alongside their founder Bruce McLaren.
Alexander has been at McLaren since 1963, before the team were even in F1. But no more - McLaren announced on Tuesday that Alexander is to retire this month.
The Mole got an e-mail from McLaren's chief communications honcho Matt Bishop recently, pointing up a new attempt at viral marketing involving Lewis Hamilton's team.
They've posted a video on youtube - and you have to hand it to them, it's actually rather good.
There has been a great deal of scepticism around the stunning times the new Brawn GP car has been setting in this week's Barcelona test.
How, many in F1 have wondered, can a car straight out of the box from a team whose survival was only secured a week ago - and has spent the two seasons at the back of the grid as Honda - be faster than those that have been running for more than a month?
And the cynics point out that the team needs to attract some sponsors - and some eye-catching headlines never do any harm on that front.
Senior figures at the Brawn team - including boss Ross Brawn and drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello - have been careful to play down their expectations in public.
But if anyone doubted that Brawn could be a major force this season, they might change their mind after reading Fernando Alonso's thoughts on the subject.
In Barcelona
All eyes are guaranteed to be on local hero Fernando Alonso in Barcelona but this week he has been that bit harder to spot.
Buoyed by Renault's hot form in testing, the double world champion has really got his game face on as he ducks between the thronging fans in the paddock at this week's major pre-season test.
But there is something else that is different about Alonso - how much weight he has lost.
The Mole has no idea how much hair weighs but gone are the long, messy locks that have become synonymous with Alonso while he has been at Renault.
Replacing that style is a short number all the better to show off his sharply defined chin because gone, too, is the hint of a jowl around his cheeks.
What have wellington boots, knee supports and baby carriers got in common with Formula One?
Curious to find out The Mole dropped into London's Science Museum for the opening of the Fast Forward exhibition which showcases 20 ways F1 is changing our world.
At its heart, F1 is about building the perfect race car and that means hundreds of engineers, thousands of hours of research and development and millions of pounds invested in the latest technologies.
Now, other industries are using that know-how to produce spin-offs - like a pair of anti-slip wellies, whose soles are based on the treads on F1 tyres.
In Barcelona, Spain
As the Formula One teams work night and day to prepare their new cars for the start of the season in just over two weeks' time, the Mole hears that all is not going entirely to plan at McLaren.
On current pace, Lewis Hamilton's team appear to be behind not only their chief rivals Ferrari - who have been consistently quick all winter - but most of the midfield teams as well.
With the caveat that judging pace in testing is notoriously tricky, a study of the lap times in Barcelona this week suggests that Ferrari have a slight edge on Renault, who have a small advantage over an unsplittable group comprising BMW Sauber, the new Brawn, Red Bull and Toyota.
McLaren? Their car appears for the moment to be a barely credible 0.5 seconds a lap slower than that group - and 0.8secs behind Ferrari.
In Barcelona, Spain.
Toyota probably wish they could press the rewind button after their media presentation in Barcelona on Monday.
The team took time out from testing to explain the latest technical developments on their 2009 car.
But Toyota will be hoping the technology is more reliable on the track than their DVD presentation.
The ban on in-season testing in 2009 means Formula One's teams really have to squeeze every extra mile out of their pre-season time on the track.
So a bit of give and take in the spirit of the team association Fota's love-in might have been a good idea.
In January, Portugal provided fur-soaking rain and hail for the first test of 2009, which meant McLaren, Williams, Renault, Toyota and Toro Rosso all lost a day's precious running.
As a roaming mole with a rumbling stomach, it is equally important to run the rule over each team's catering as well as their cars during testing.
At this week's test in Jerez, Toyota hit top form when it comes to puddings, with brownies and slices of bakewell tarts with whipped cream and fresh fruit on the menu.
Ferrari's friendly chefs provided a sophisticated banquet with legs of cured meat and whirls of squid and olive to nibble on.
In Jerez, Spain.
Could you sleep through up to 130 decibels of raw engine noise?
Blocking out the incessant whirr of Formula One's speed machines seems to come more easily to some than others.
And there was one man who managed to catch more than 40 winks at the Jerez circuit when the heavy rain fell on Monday.
His name is Felipe Massa, and when Ferrari's hopes of running next season's tyres in dry conditions were ruined, the Brazilian driver took to his bed.
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