A bit of stuff from an old preview I wrote.... plus some newer history stuff I did not know when I wrote it initially so have added
HISTORY
Background and history
The race is held on the Albert Park street circuit, situated just two kilometres south of Melbourne's Central Business District. Albert Park has hosted the Australian Grand Prix every year since 1996, when the race was moved from Adelaide. However, the track's association with Formula One goes back further than 13 years: it staged two non-championship F1 races in 1953 and '56. The AGP at this time was run to Formula Libre rules.
Lex Davison #3 HWM Jag, Stan Jones #2 Maybach, and Doug Whiteford in the winning Lago-Talbot at the start of the 1953 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, the venues first race meeting on November 21. Cec Warren #6 Maserati 4CLT, Frank Kleinig #7 Kleinig Hudson 8, W Hayes #10 Ford V8 Spl, and a badly smoking Ted Gray #11 Alta Ford V8
Reg Hunt #5 and Guerino Bertocchi #7 in Maserati 250F’s prior to Saturday practice, Albert Park, Australian Grand Prix, 1 December 1956…
Doug Whiteford was a local- , his dealership/workshop was in Carlisle Street St Kilda, a drop-kick from Albert Park. Whiteford’s first Talbot-Lago T26C, chassis ‘#110007’ was beautifully prepared and driven by ‘Dicer Doug’ who won two of his three AGP’s in it- at Bathurst in 1952 and at Albert Park in 1953.
Reg Hunt, Kevin Neal and Lex Davison launch their ‘Italian Stallions’ off the line at the start of Albert Parks’ 150 mile ‘Argus Trophy’… The AGP that year was a two weekend event... this event was a support race the previous weekend.
In 1956,The 'greats', including Stirling Moss, Jean Behra and Ken Wharton, were out from Europe with their latest machinery. Many of the locals had also ordered the latest in exotic machinery in Europe in an attempt to compete. Moss, in his 250F Maserati, won the first Grand Prix at Albert Park,beating local boy Jack Brabham amongst others in a non-championship race, The Olympic Grand Prix, run to coincide with the Olympic Games, held in Melbourne that year.
Kevin Neal's ex Reg Hunt 250F was badly damaged in the ’56 AGP at Albert Park when Neal lost control during a shower of rain late in the race.
1956 AGP Entry list.
There were two racing carnivals at Albert Park in 1956. This ‘Moomba’ Meeting (Moomba is still an annual Melbourne late Summer festival) in March and the Australian Grand Prix meetings after the Melbourne Olympic Games in the last weekend of November and the first in December. Similarly, the ‘Moomba’ meeting was held over two weekends, race days were Sunday 11 and 18 March 1956.
Reg Hunt leads Lex Davison , Maserati 250F and Ferrari Tipo 500, Albert Park ‘Moomba Races’ March 1956. Check out the trees, kerbs, and very thick chain wire fence on these everyday suburban roads within the park! Crowd of over 70,000 in attendance (museumvictoria.com.au)
Reg Hunt in the Maser A6GCM during the Albert Park, Moomba meeting in late March 1955
When Victoria won the rights to stage the Grand Prix for 1996, a "new" circuit was designed utilizing portions of the original track, bringing it up to modern F1 specifications. The circuit today is vastly different than it was in 1956. There were no run-off areas, no safety barriers, no smooth curbing. Plenty of period hay bales. It was a tree lined public road that went around the lake with parts of the road having bluestone curbing . The current F1 circuit now runs on the opposite direction than it did then....
The first race in 1956 had its excitement from the start. Stillwell got the jump at the start and lead Bill Pitt into the fast, first left-hand corner. He recalls how he closed quickly under braking into Melford Corner before realising he had gone into it far too fast. The car was still under control, and as he continued the power slide and concentrated on the short burst into the next corner, suddenly it was all over before he knew what had happened. As the D-Type slid wide, and the power was applied, the back wheel touched the stone curbing and at those speeds the car simply twisted into the air and slammed down on its back.
As the green D-Type lay upside down the scattered hay bales caught fire and quickly spread to the car. The marshals were convinced that the driver was squashed under the car, but couldn't right the car till the fire was out. When that was done, and the car was back on its wheels, they were shocked to find the cockpit empty. Unseen by anyone Bill had been thrown out while the car was in mid air, and in a state of shock, and worry about Jack Brabham's Cooper which was following, he jumped a six foot wall of hay bales before anyone had seen. Anyway back to the more modern times, and the 'new' Albert Park.
Of course as a non championship event, the Australian Grand Prix has been held other than the war years on an annual basis since the 1920's.
OK a bit of a memory of the more recent past.
1997, Melbourne's' second year, Jacques Villeneuve looked set to win again for Williams, after dominating qualifying by a massive margin, but he was taken out on the first corner by Eddie Irvine, and so David Coulthard raced on to McLarens first AGP win since Adelaide in1993. This race also gave Damon Hill an early indication that his run with the Arrows team, would not be smooth, as his car coasted to a halt on the parade lap, preventing him from even participating in his first title defending race.
1998, who of us will ever forget the season opener? A race that was won with such total dominance, and under a huge cloud. Once again David Coulthard looked set to win, after teammate, Mika Hakkinen, lost so much time in the pits. Learning of the Fins predicament, David slowed to let Mika pass, honouring a gentleman's agreement the two had made before the race. Fans all over the world went wild.
1999 saw Eddie Irvine take his first ever GP win for Ferrari although the Irishman had left for the Jaguar team for the 2000 championship.
2000 it was another Ferrari victory, this time a one two with Michael Schumacher claiming his first ever Australian win and new teammate Rubens Barrichello coming in second. The Australian race was marred by the tragic death of a safety marshal after a collision between the BAR of Jacques Villeneuve and the Williams of Ralf Schumacher.
2001 Michael Schumacher went on to take his second victory in the land down under. A new guy called Kimi Raikkonen turned up with the Sauber team, with only 20 car races on his CV, nothing with more than 4 cylinders and 200hp. He was only given a provisional FIA 'superlicence'. Peter Sauber had given him two half day tests in the off season, but had seen enough to give Kimi the ride, even though unlike the usual debutant Kimi didnt have a cent in sponsorship. By the end of 1st practice everyone knew who Kimi was, and Brundle said this was a star of the future. He ended up the weekend finishing in the points with a fine 6th place,and a faster lap time than his teamate.
2002. Michael continued his winning streak making it a hat trick of wins at Albert Park
...Being at the start of the season, the track is well known as a debut for many rookies, and local driver Mark Webber was immortalized when, after half of the field was decimated in another first corner melee when Ralf and Rubens touched, and Ralf literally flew out ofthe race, he crossed the line in his debut race in fifth place, driving the locally owned Minardi. Most of us saw or hoped this as the dawning of an era when F1 would dominate Aussie screens with the promises from our at the time new 'Home of Motorsport' and F1 broadcaster, When. Mark is nearer retirement than his start now and we are just getting some benefits, more from digital channels than interest from broadcasters.
2003 David Coulthard won only one race here in Australia. The McLaren driver finished in front of Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya in second place and teamate Kimi Raikkonen in third position.
In 2004, Michael Schumacher was back in control leading home team-mate Rubens Barrichello in what would be a dominant season for Ferrari and Michael's seventh championship success.
2005 saw new qualifying rules, and an immediate weakness in the format with a downpour mid session, just as the quicker guys were starting to head out on their dry tyres and setup.
Fisi thus was on pole with a protective layer of slow cars between him and the rain affected rear of grid starting quick guys. Other new rules saw no tyre changes and engines that had to last 2 races with penalties for changing them. Fisi, protected by slower cars, a freezing cold day, and tyres to last a race scooted off to win with ease from Rubens and Alonso. The new Red Bull (Jaguar) team ended up with both cars in the points whilst Honda saw a loophole in the engine rules, retiring both cars to the pits on the last lap to allow them new engines for the next race. (Ironically they both blew up in the opening lap!)
2006 saw the introduction of mandatory 2.4L V8 engines. The AGP was not the opening round, thanks to the Commonwealth Games, and had moved to the 3rd race. Tyre changes were back, and for Montoya so was drama, spinning his McLaren as he was just arriving on the grid trying to warm his tyres. Fisi stalled and the start was aborted. At the restartButton was in the lead in the Honda (oh how the mighty fall) A couple of laps into the race with cars going off everywhere we got the first safety car, which gave Montoya the chance to be the first GP driver to spin on the warm up lap and again behind the safety car. A couple of laps after the restart it was out again as Kliens RB was swept up. By pitstop time the front runners pitted leaving Mark in the lead in the Williams, on a one stop strategy. However the gearbox failed three laps later and Mark was another DNF.
Michael Schumacher got it wrong on the entry to the start finish straight and shredded his Ferrari opposite the pits, sending the SC out again and MS diving for cover in the Toyota pit. Cars dived for the pits and we had McLarens queued up whilst Kimi had a nosejob with an angry JPM behind. After the restart JPM was on a wild ride, wild enough to scare his McLaren into thinking it had had an accident and shut down its electrics as he flew over the kerb that had earlier claimed Michael. Alonso sailed on to highlight the Renault pace with a win from KR and a podium for Ralf in his Toyota. Toyota celebrated by sacking Mike Gascoyne and have slid backwards ever since....
2007 and we had Bridgestone's control tyre, no MS, Kimi in Red, Alonso in Silver with a rookie teamate no one had heard of called Lewis something, Mark Webber back in the remnants of Jaguar, now with a Renault engine and called a Red Bull....
2008 It was a blockbuster. As others lost their cool in oppressively hot temperatures, Lewis Hamilton kept everything under control and, a year after his stunning F1 debut, began his World Championship challenge for 2008 with a victory. Ferrari had brainfade, both their drivers having erratic races, Massa on the first turn and again with DC, Kimi, having been sent out with no petrol, had to start 16th, showed a great early race, but having done the hard work and on the point of taking second, the Ice Man melted.... and had a couple of spins. Ultimately both cars had engine failures beforethe race was over. The safety car rule spoilt the day for many, none more so than Barrichello who ended up with a DSQ., and we ended up with Hamilton Heidfeld and Rosberg on the podium. We saw Super Aguri for the last time in Melbourne. In fact we also saw SA mentor Honda for the last time at Melbourne as well.
2009. Well we had the Brawn phenomena. A 'new' (albeit Honda / BAR / Tyrrell reborn) team. They arrived with no sponsor and little else other than a late but impressive testing record. Oh and a new catchword for us. Double Decker Diffuser. It became the bugbear of the season with protests flying from those not so clever, and of course the issue became one of the FIA courts and led to everyone else playing catch up.
With their DDD Brawn GP had the front row locked out with a 1-2. They ended up with a 1-2 finish far more comprehensive than that of Ferrari at Bahrain last race. Even though it was a somewhat fortunate 1-2 and thanks mainly to a late race coming together of Vettel and Robert 'I would have won' Kubica. Barrichello had made one of his to become habitual poor starts, dropping to 7th, whilst Jenson Button dominated the race like no one else has ever dominated Melbourne. He did the Grand Slam in as much as he went from pole and never relinquished the lead even in the pit stop sequences. That Nico Rosberg took the race fastest lap was more due to Button in cruise mode than anything.
Of course we also had the first race to finish under a Safety Car for many a year (at least 10 from my recollection) And we had the birth of another scandal that became known as Liegate, involving McLaren and Hamilton forgetting the truth. It ultimately was resolved, but not after having embarrassed the hell out of McLaren, damaged their relationship with Mercedes irrepairably, and lost Hamilton the media favour he had enjoyed.
Statistically.....
Races 34 [1985 – 2018, Melbourne 23 (1996 – 2018), Adelaide 11 (1985 – 1995)]
Laps 58
Circuit length 5303 m
Race distance 307.271 km
Fastest race lap 1:24.105 (Michael Schumacher, 2004)
Record lap 1:21.167 (Lewis Hamilton, Q3, 2018)
Results 2018.
1 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 58 1: 29: 33.283
2 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 58 1: 29: 38.319 5036
3 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 58 1: 29: 39.592 6309
4 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull / TAG Heuer 58 1: 29: 40,352 7069
5 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren / Renault 58 1: 30: 01,169 27886
6 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull / TAG Heuer 58 1: 30: 02,228 28945
7 27 Nico Hülkenberg Renault 58 1: 30: 05,954 32671
8 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 58 1: 30: 07,622 34339
9 2 S.Vandoorne McLaren / Renault 58 1: 30: 08,204 34921
10 55 Carlos Sainz Renault 58 1: 30: 19.005 45722
11 11 Sergio Pérez Force India / Mercedes 58 1: 30: 20.100 46817
12 31 Esteban Ocon Force India / Mercedes 58 1: 30: 33.561 1: 00,278
13 16 Charles Leclerc Sauber / Ferrari 58 1: 30: 49.042 1: 15.759
14 18 Lance Stroll Williams / Williams 58 1: 30: 51.571 1: 18,288
15 28 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso / Honda 57 1: 29: 55.759 1 round
(7) 8 Romain Grosjean Haas / Ferrari 24 36: 32.878 He gave up
(9) 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas / Ferrari 22 33: 31,467 He gave up
(16) 10 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso / Honda 13 20: 11.451 He gave up
(16) 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber / Ferrari 5 7: 55096 Hydraulics
(19) 35 Sergey Sirotkin Williams / Williams 4 6: 26147 brakes
STATS (after 2018)
DRIVERS CONSTRUCTORS ENGINE MAKES
Wins: Michael Schumacher (4) McLaren (11) Mercedes (10)
Pole positions: Lewis Hamilton (7) McLaren (10) Mercedes (11)
Fastest laps: Kimi Räikkönen (6) Ferrari (9) Ferrari (9)
Podium places: Lewis Hamilton (8) McLaren (26) Mercedes (28)
Front row: Lewis Hamilton (8) McLaren (22) Mercedes (20)
Races led: Lewis Hamilton (8) McLaren (21) Mercedes (20)
Kilometers led: Michael Schumacher (1190) McLaren (3010) Mercedes (3044)
Points: Lewis Hamilton (146) Ferrari (364.5) Mercedes (534)
THE TRACK
Here is the track map from the 1956 non championship Aus GP at the Park event Programme. Worth remembering that in those days the track was run in the opposite direction to today.
Albert Park is a technically demanding track because it's bumpy, particularly in a couple of the braking areas; it's hard on brakes and it's slippery. The grip from the asphalt improves throughout the race weekend as more rubber goes down, but it never reaches the levels that the teams have been used to in winter testing. As a result, car set-up is a constant battle against understeer and a lack of traction.
It is equally important to have a good set of gear ratios for optimum acceleration out of the somewhat slow chicanes. As is always the case in race car setup, a compromise is needed. Good mechanical grip at the front end and the ability to turn well while braking is fundamental for the slower corners while aerodynamic balance is most important in the Turn 11-12 section. Good braking efficiency and stability is also crucial for a quick lap at Melbourne.
The need to achieve high top speeds forces the cars to run without maximum levels of downforce. This reduces grip through the many second-gear corners, making it harder for the drivers to get back on the power. In the days when traction control was permitted, the system worked hard around Albert Park; without it, the rear end moves around more.
But the challenge of Albert Park isn't only technical. There is a lot of time to be gained through the quick chicane at Turns 11 and 12, should the drivers get it right, and if you get it hooked up well. You need a car with a good front-end to make the most of these corners..
It's a place where bravery is rewarded.
Melbourne’s Albert Park is a stop-start mixture of temporary street course and a purpose-built track. This means the circuit includes an interesting variety of corners with unusual geometry and constantly evolving track surface.
A relatively featureless circuit, it is often described as having a ‘point and squirt’ layout that provides a difficult technical challenge with a number of heavy braking zones and range of tricky low-speed corners.
Aerodynamics
Melbourne is on a par with the aerodynamic demands of Silverstone or Sepang and therefore requires a medium to high downforce set-up. There are a few critical high-speed corners but nothing especially demanding. The high downforce set-up helps the drivers get good traction out of the slower corners, which is important for carrying good exit speed onto the straights.
Suspension
Melbourne has a number of chicanes where a responsive car with a good change of direction is critical, nowhere more so than in the high-speed challenge of turns 11 and 12. Thesuspension therefore has to be relatively stiff to achieve this, but at the same time the car needs to be soft enough to use the curbs and have good stability under braking. An optimum set-up therefore demands a compromise, dovetailing hard and soft settings accordingly.
Brakes
Albert Park is one of the most demanding circuits on brakes with six major braking zones demanding stops from over 300 kph. It is not the severity of the braking, but the frequency that makes an efficient brake cooling solution a constant concern during the race. The track surface can be bumpy in the braking zones, but nothing too significant and a soft enough car should be able to ride the bumps without locking up under braking. Braking is complicated further this year by the absence of driver aids, namely the sophisticated engine braking systems that have been outlawed with the adoption of standardised electronics.
When it comes to picking Albert Park’s toughest braking point, the Brembo engineers are in no doubt: Just in front of the Jones chicane which follows on directly after the starting. Dropping around 158 from top speeds of 309 in just 1.7 seconds exposes the pilots to G-forces of 4.5.
Oh yes, and we had a 4.10pm start to favour the early rising sleep deprived Europeans.
Not quite as late as previously, when it started an hour later but on an overcast day was getting pretty dark by race end, and on a bright day the sun shining through the trees was blinding the drivers. (I know what it is like at 60(-ish
) kph and at 300 kph I can see why drivers would be twitchy.
The timetable (local times.11 hours ahead of the UK)
2019 AUSTRALIAN GP TIMETABLE
1st free practice FRI 12:00
2nd free practice FRI 16:00
3rd free practice SAT 14:00
Qualifying SAT 17:00
Race SUN 16:10
THE MONGOLS
For
@John's benefit, the Mongols steered clear of Australia. It is a well known fact that Genghis Khan suffered Arachnophobia. He also did not like Salties, as we call the nastiest crocodiles. To compound matters he had trouble mastering our hopping horses, saying they had very short front legs and couldnt gallop properly. So, no Mongols.
Until recently that is. The Mongols discovered that Motorbikes were far more efficient than our hopping horses with funny front legs. They also discovered crocodiles have a fear of guns. THE Mongol Empire has begun its invasion of gangland Australia.And police motorcycle gang investigators have told news.com.au the Mongols are likely to become the ruling outlaw force in the country.
Mongols were known for "torture, murder, drugs, guns, explosives".
"Their reputation for violence and criminality is well deserved," he said. "And don't believe all the PR they might say about how they're just men who love their bikes and have a fight now and again, but collect toys for kids at Christmas.
"They are criminals.
"They are one per centers. They deal in methamphetamines, and to a lesser extent ecstasy and cannabis.
"They are into extortion big time, fraud and involved in places that are on the knife edge of criminality, like strip clubs."
Maybe I will go on Friday. 
