The countdown timer has been reset, but that cannot stop the inevitability of a new Formula One season on the horizon.

Bahrain has been postponed, and rightly so. Now, all eyes shift to Albert Park, which has had its share of hosting the inaugural event of the season, including in 1996, its first year on the schedule. It held that honor all the way through 2005, when Bahrain took over for a lone season (Bahrain got the honors again in 2010 after a return to Australia for 2007-09).

In a sense, the F1 calendar is returning to a sense of normalcy by Australia opening the season, as 13 of the past 15 openers have taken place on the temporary circuit. It's a relatively narrow track, which often means collisions.

Look no further than last year, when damp conditions accelerated the attrition rate. Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher failed to make it out of Turn 1 without incident, but managed to continue on, then Kamui Kobayashi collected several cars in a huge shunt only moments later. No doubt it was one of the most eventful opening laps of the season, especially when compared with the relatively dull procession that took place in Bahrain only two weeks prior.

Thanks in part to a problem with Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull, Jenson Button was the winner of that race, and he ended up taking two of the first four events of the season. It certainly looked as if Button would have a great chance at defending his 2009 title when he left China in April, but his success ran cold, and he failed to win again for the remainder of the year.

That pattern also was characteristic of his championship season with Brawn GP, when he stormed out of the gate with six wins in the first seven events but then did not win again for the rest of the season. In reality, it's a testament to Button's pure skill that he was mathematically in the title hunt so late this past year despite a subpar second frame to the season.

Over the past two seasons, Button has eight wins in the first half of the year and none in the second. In that span, he also has 12 podiums in the first half compared with just four in the second. This is even with an extra race included in the second half of both years, as each had an odd number of events. If Button can put on a stronger late-season surge in 2011, he might just be the favorite to win it all.

An intriguing recent headline centered on Button's teammate, Lewis Hamilton, and NASCAR Sprint Cup owner/driver Tony Stewart. ESPN's Marty Smith reported that the two will swap machines later this year in an exhibition event at Watkins Glen, the famed New York track that once hosted F1 events. The news is that these cars will be race-ready, which should make for a fascinating event. Both drivers are among the best in their disciplines, and it goes at least part of the way in realizing many motorsports fans' dreams, which is seeing their favorite driver try their hand at another series.

A man who participated in a similar exhibition has shown that it can be done, and done well. Former F1 pilot Juan Pablo Montoya lent four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon his Williams-BMW back in 2003 at Indianapolis, and Gordon did not disappoint, turning some very quick lap times.

But it was Montoya who went on to be successful in two completely different series. In fewer than 100 F1 starts, Montoya claimed seven victories before leaving for the NASCAR circuit in 2006. Since then, he has won twice on road courses in Sprint Cup and has come very close to victory on several ovals, as well. Few find desired results when swapping series, but Montoya certainly has been a shining example that it is possible.

A more distant reference would be 1964 Formula One champion John Surtees, who had previously won titles riding motorcycles. He was certainly one of the pioneers of F1, in more than one way.