For those who have no idea what or who Waltzing Matilda is.....
INTRO
Yes its time for Melbourne Round 3. We have had a well earned break for two weeks so I guess its good to be racing again.. Just think of it positively.... by the end of the weekend we will be more than 10% (12.5% to be exact) through the season.
Time to say welcome back to the Albert Park Circuit, the picturesque setting for the Australian Grand Prix, and other than when we tried to keep the world out with your nasty Western germs and locked everyone out (and in) for a couple of years its been part of the Melbourne sporting lifesince 1996. We missed out in 2020 when Covid hit the world just before P1 was due to start. Someone at McLaren tested positive on the Thursday night and by Friday morning the GP had been canned and the whole season was suddenly in jeopardy 2021 didnt happen because of Covid restrictions
Gone are the days when it was the opening race of the season.... the Middle East snapped their fingers, waved their wallets and now, this year anyway, the AGP is the third round of the Championship. (Next year we get a reprieve and we will be the opening race, apparently... it was written into the renewed contract. Rumours here suggest that will be March 6th-9th 2025)
This year will be the 38th Championship GP held in Australia, the 27th to be held in Melbourne's Albert Park, with a further 11 held at the iconic Adelaide street circuit. Of course Australia has held a GP long before the Championship days going back to the late 1920's. I will cover more of that in the History section.
Located in the heart of Melbourne pretty much, this circuit has a unique backdrop in the calendar, combining parkland and lake views with a cityscape, and a spit from the beach.. Ita street circuit but isnt one.....Its semi-street circuit layout provides high-speed straights, tight chicanes, and demanding corners that feel like a dedicated track despite the public having access when F1 isn't in town. Mind you, nowadays they have taken all the fun away for when its not closed off for F1. Some of it is now down to a 40 kph speed limit for us mere mortals.
What have we got to look forward too?
Hopefully not the Red Bull Crapfest. No I dont mean the likleyhood that Mac will win his third on the bounce this season. I will come to that. No, I mean the other Red Bull Crap show. Even Jos (who thinks he is the Boss) is calling for normality and we are told that there is now a ceasefire in place within the ranks, and we are told even the Austrians now want Horner to run the show. Apparently, at least publically for this weekend, they all want to.
I cant help thinking that Horner sudden turnaround mid weekend at Jeddah has made a couple think twice about what they say. I sort of have picked up a different atmosphere ever since Horner fired back at all of the Max is going to Merc, or Aston is Marko gets moved off to pasture and Newey somewhere else. Horner's simple words of "No one is bigger than the team" seemed to have hit home. Max has suddenly realised that if he does run away with his yoys elsewhere, with the regulations pretty fixed with what we have until 2026, he is going to have to vacate the best seat in town and wait until 2026 for any chance of a Red Bull fail. As my Mother used to tell me "Wake up and smell the roses!"
Anyway we know it is likely to be another Red Bull walkover.... The drama of the sideshow hasn’t affected the performance of Max or Sergio though, and it looks like that won’t be the case this weekend.
Max is looking down the barrel of matching his 10 consecutive wins record that got interrupted at Singapore last year. No one else has ever done it and he is on the brink of doing it for the second time.
A win here will also take his overall tally to 57... more impressively that is career win>start ratio of 30%, better than Michael and within a whisker of Lewis. Fangio Ascari and Clark are the only (none Indy) F1drivers with a better %age. A win this weekend (and Lewis not winning) will put Max ahead of the 'modern' drivers.
I guess we have other things to think about. Mainly I guess, is will Carlos Sainz have made a good enough recovery from his appendicitis surgery to be back in the Ferrari this weekend. Much as we all embrased the way Ollie Bearman grasped his opportunity to show the wold his talent, and no doubt he deserves another opportunity, we need to see Carlos back in the car. He was driving like a man re-invigorated in Bahrain, of course keen to showcase his own undoubed talents to those who might be looking for a driver for 2025 given Carlos having drawn the short straw as the fall guy to allow Sir Lulu to dress in red. Bottom line is as we stand he is unemployed at the end of the season.He gave the it seems more fancied Leclerc something of a masterclass from the moment the cars hit the track. He will be keen to get out there and repaeat Bahrain.
I am confident Carlos will be in the car come raceday. Alex Albon had his appendicitis surgery and was racing at the next race, in Singapore of all places, plus he had his recovery compromised by a couple of days in ICU after an anaesthetic issue cause him be comatosed and on life support. Worst case scenario is Carlos gets in the car for P1 and then makes the call. Bearman is going to get a drive anyway this weekend as he is in town for the F2 race.
Of course everyone here (well the local media anyway) is talking up the hopes of Danny Ric and Oscar Piastri. Some still see him as favourite to take over from Sergio, maybe even this year. Its Oscar's second race here and last year was his first ever WDC points, so he has form here and comes to Melbourne with the benefit of having had a strong start to the season.... indeed he leads the points of Lando this year. Having said that McLaren as a team will be looking to continue their form to date and will be looking for a third double points finish of the season.
As for DannyRic, I just dont see the excitement. Even he has been talking up how good he is for the VCARB mob this year. It seems his experience is what has allowed Tsunoda to have outperformed Danny pretty much. Doesnt seem to help Danny in qualifying, and he only beat Yuki thanks to team orders in the one race he finished higher.
Will there be another team orders row this weekend? Actually Danny has not had the best history with Albert Park.. His best finish was with Red Bull with two 4ths, along with 3 DNFs and a DSQ. Other than that a couple of 6ths and a 9th. Not that flash. His Albert Pk race average is 4 points near enough.
Lets just say I would put my house on Danny not performing "a shoey" for victory this weekend! A couple of points would be the best.
Anyway the way I see it the Red Bulls are out front by a margin. Ferrari seem best of the rest, but McLaren, then Mercedes and Aston Martin (well one of them) are up there. Mercedes believe it or not are having their worst season start since 2012.. Both drivers complained of high speed cornering issues and Tota talks of "Correlation issues". They looked quick at times but come raceday struggled. Toto has said some fine tuning stuff and changes will be tried, and that this race will see the team set their upgrade path for the rest of the season. Potential seems to be a popular word at Mercedes. There have been some clear signs of pace at certain times, but those times have been in be during practice sessions rather than in qualifying or the race. Mercedes have said that they will “design some experiments” for Melbourne, that could help them unlock more performance. Interesting to see how it works out.
Ferrari do seem to have improved their race pace this year over last. Can they bring something new this weekend?
Haas are a bit of a conundrum. They currently are 6th with a point in the WCC. They seemed awful pre season, but Hulk in qualy has been superb and got to Q3. They have both performed reasonably well in races, and KMag would have done well had he not been given 20 seconds of penalties for a couple of 5 second crimes.
Williams also have shown good pace with Albon..... Sauber, VCARB and Alpine have all got a lot of room for improvemt. Alpine just seem to have imploded. I wouldnt be surprised to see a For Sale sign outside their garages if they dont pull their socks up.
I will talk about tyres later on but Pirelli have gone soft this year. Softer than ever before at Albert Park.
What else is happening. F1, F2, F3, V8 Supercars, Porches plus a bit of other 'entertainment.......
Doohan father and son – that’s former motorcycle ace Mick Doohan and Alpine reserve driver Jack Doohan – will take to the track at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit for a demonstration run ahead of the 2024 Australian Grand Prix to celebrate 30 years since the first of Doohan Senior’s five 500cc titles.
Jack Doohan will be driving a 2000-spec Benetton B200 Formula 1 machine (a car built at Alpine’s current UK base in Enstone) with his father heading out on track on a production MotoGP Honda RCV213.
What Jack will drive....
TIMETABLE
Lets get the timetable out of the way. None of the mid event clock changing this year..... for those in Europe and the UK we are +11hrs on the UK and +10 on Europe. Yes thats going to pee a few people off given the time it will likely be in your locality.
First thing of note is that for the first time this year the race is on the proper day Yes, a Sunday race. Unless you are West Coast USA it might not be.
This should be when it all happens on the East Coast of the US
Australian GP session timings in the US (Eastern Time)
Thursday 21st March 2024
Free Practice 1: 21:30 - 22:30 ET
Friday 22nd March 2024
Free Practice 2: 01:00 - 02:00 ET
Free Practice 3: 21:30 - 22:30 ET
Saturday 23rd March 2024
Qualifying: 01:00 - 02:00 ET
Sunday 24th March 2024
Race: 00:00 ET
THE TRACK.
The Albert Park Circuit winds through 5.278 km (3.280 miles) of Melbourne's scenic park of the same name, featuring 14 turns that offer a mix of high and low-speed corners.
Albert Park's layout encourages close racing, with several overtaking opportunities early in the lap, notably into Turn 1 and Turn 3, where heavy braking zones allow wheel-to-wheel action.
2022 saw a major change in the second sector, swapping a slow-speed right-hander at Turn 9 into a sweeping run alongside the lake and into the needle-threading Turn 11-12 chicane before completing the lap around the slower-speed Sector 3. It seemed to work quite well.
There are sections of the Albert Park circuit that feature high-speed corners with walls waiting nearby to punish any mistakes, and with the close nature of the field fighting for points, drivers need to push hard in that battle, with the circuit’s recent modifications making overtaking more possible than in the past.
However the downside of all the alterations is that this year again the track is configured with 4 DRS zones. Yes 4. They tried it in practice in 2022, canned it for the race because of safety issues when the drivers said it was too dangerous But it was back last year and is still with us. 4 DRS zones means most of the track is run with DRS.
There are only 2 detection zones though, the first one just after the right hand turn 6 which gives the DRS for the two zones which continue pretty much down the whole of the back stretch with the exception of the little left right flick which was made faster last year.
The other zone is just before the let hander before the pit entry lane with the first zone being the start finishand then resuming immediately after the first chicane.
Melbourne
When was the track built?
The deal to host Formula 1 in Melbourne was done in 1993, with the decision taken to create a circuit using a mixture of the existing roads around the city’s Albert Park – mainly Aughtie Drive and Lakeside Drive if you fancy driving it yourself – with a little detour through the Lakeside Stadium’s car park.
When was its first Grand Prix?
Just four months after Adelaide held its last Australian Grand Prix at the end of 1995, the Formula 1 teams were back in Australia for Melbourne's first Grand Prix at the start of 1996. That race is most often remembered for Martin Brundle’s infamous Jordan crash at Turn 3 after he launched himself off the back of Johnny Herbert’s Sauber.
Of course we had GP's at Albert Park way back in the 1950's but more of that later.
TYRES
Well, I hinted Pirelli have gone soft......as soft as they can.
Pirelli’s C5 tyre – the softest of the five slick compounds available this year will make its debut at the Australian Grand Prix: round three of the 2024 season. This has been nominated alongside the C4 (as used in Jeddah) and the C3, which is seen at practically every race.
This is a softer selection compared to last year, when the C2, C3, and C4 were chosen, but it’s not the first time that the softest compound has been seen in Melbourne. Back in 2022, Pirelli brought the C5 to Albert Park as the soft nomination (when it was paired with C3 as medium and C2 as hard, leaving out the C4).
The track itself isn’t too hard on tyres, with degradation being a bigger factor than wear. It’s now the beginning of autumn at this time of year in Australia, and this can spring a few weather-related surprises, with temperature swings and rain all having made their mark on the race weekend in the past. There’s a packed programme of support races from Thursday onwards: as well as Formula 2 and Formula 3, there’s also the Porsche Carrera Cup and Australian Supercars championship, which means there will be plenty of rubber laid onto the track to influence grip levels.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR
It was something of a nightmare with the number of red flags almost matching the number of DRS zones. Safety Cars, controversy we had it all.
But yes Max Verstappen won in Australia, believe it or not, for the first time. In fact it was also only the 2nd time Red Bull had won at Albert Park. The first time they won was way back in 2011 with Vettel. In fact, out of 34 starts at the Australian GP the Bulls have finished on the podium just 6 times.
Anyway back to last years race.....
Max Verstappen claimed victory during a wild and action-packed Australian Grand Prix, overcoming battles with the Mercedes drivers, several Safety Cars and three red flags to lead home Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
Verstappen lost out to both George Russell and Hamilton at the original race start, before the Safety Car made two appearances in quick succession due to Charles Leclerc retiring from a collision with Lance Stroll and Alex Albon crashing out heavily.
A subsequent red flag for Albon’s incident brought the field back to the pits, with Hamilton leading Verstappen and Alonso, taking advantage of misfortune for Russell and Carlos Sainz, who were the two front-runners to take on fresh tyres just before the stoppage.
With a free choice of tyres for the restart, Hamilton initially held the lead from Verstappen, but the Red Bull driver soon got within DRS range and moved back into P1, moments before Russell’s misery was compounded by an apparent engine failure.
Verstappen brushed off the early drama to move into a comfortable lead as the race developed, while Hamilton held P2 and set about managing the gap back to Alonso, who was joined by the recovering Sainz and Pierre Gasly in a fight for the podium positions.
But just as the order appeared to be locked in, another Safety Car, and then another red flag, was triggered late on when Kevin Magnussen thumped the wall exiting Turn 2, lost his rear-right wheel and spread debris from his Haas over the racing line.
It meant a third standing start and the prospect of a two-lap shootout on soft tyres, but just a matter of seconds passed before further contact and drama as Sainz tipped fellow Spaniard Alonso into a spin in the Turn 1 bottleneck.
Behind, Gasly took avoiding action and collided with Alpine team mate Esteban Ocon as he rejoined the circuit, putting both drivers out on the spot, while Logan Sargeant ran into the back of Nyck de Vries, and Sergio Perez – who had risen from the pit lane – and Stroll had separate off-track excursions.
After some confusion over how the race would proceed and the results would be determined, proceedings were resumed – and ultimately settled – behind the Safety Car in the order of the previous start, minus the cars that had been eliminated.
A rolling start took the field around to the chequered flag, with Verstappen crossing the line for his first victory in Australia, as Hamilton and Alonso completed the podium ahead of Sainz, Stroll, Perez and Lando Norris.
However, Sainz was hit with a five-second time penalty for his clash with Alonso, promoting everyone behind him as Nico Hulkenberg took P7, from home favourite Oscar Piastri, Zhou Guanyu, Yuki Tsunoda – inheriting the final point – and Valtteri Bottas.
De Vries, Sargeant, Magnussen, Russell, Albon and Leclerc all watched the final lap from the sidelines, as the sun set on a hugely dramatic day at the Albert Park Circuit.
POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 58 2:32:38.371 25
2 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 58 +0.179s 18
3 14 Fernando Alonso ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 58 +0.769s 15
4 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 58 +3.082s 12
5 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 58 +3.320s 11
6 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 58 +3.701s 8
7 27 Nico Hulkenberg HAAS FERRARI 58 +4.939s 6
8 81 Oscar Piastri MCLAREN MERCEDES 58 +5.382s 4
9 24 Zhou Guanyu ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 58 +5.713s 2
10 22 Yuki Tsunoda ALPHATAURI HONDA RBPT 58 +6.052s 1
11 77 Valtteri Bottas ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 58 +6.513s 0
12 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 58 +6.594s 0
13 10 Pierre Gasly ALPINE RENAULT 56 DNF 0
14 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 56 DNF 0
15 21 Nyck De Vries ALPHATAURI HONDA RBPT 56 DNF 0
16 2 Logan Sargeant WILLIAMS MERCEDES 56 DNF 0
17 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 52 DNF 0
NC 63 George Russell MERCEDES 17 DNF 0
NC 23 Alexander Albon WILLIAMS MERCEDES 6 DNF 0
NC 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 0 DNF 0
Note - Perez scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. Sainz received a five-second time penalty for causing a collision.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Click watch on youtube.
HISTORY
I have many memories of the 35 + championship GPs I have been living in Australia for. I have memories of the non championship races as well, and actually went to the non championship race in 1984 which was run to Formula Atlantic (probably Pacific actually) rules, mostly driving Ralts. I cant remember who won, but it might have been Rosberg (senior). Local drivers like John Bowe were running but were dominated in results terms by the international talent. Oh, it was definitely at Calder Park.
I can remember also Niki Lauda was a starter, which was the catalyst for my going.
1985 was the first Championship year, with the event being held on the much loved original full sized street circuit, and I went to that. It was Laudas last race, but he lost his brakes and retired. Amusingly the two Ligiers collided on the final lap... Streiff did finish on the podium, with three wheels only on his wagon. Of course that is now classified as too adventurous.
1986 I watched on TV with the memory being of course the three may title fight between Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost and Nelson Piquet, decided by the tyre situation, particularly Mansell and his championship ending explosive blowout.
[Nostalgic self Indulgence warning]
1988 I remember for special reasons..... As Victorian Championship outright leader in the Historic Touring Car Championship I was given a complimentary entry in the support race for the category. Many of the F1 drivers, notably including Ayrton Senna, were all watching our race from the pit wall as we lined up on the grid. I managed to take out a class win for the weekend.
Adelaide really was laid back, and having the competitor passes back then in the pre barcode days meant we could, with a pass on a lanyard around the neck, act way above our support act status. As soon as the GP (which we had watched from the the roof of one our categories transporters) was over we headed into the pit lane area where many of the F1 team members (engineers as opposed to drivers) were flogging teamware etc. I did a trade with one of the Ligier team, swapping my worn all day
Ken Done (Aussie artist as below) T-shirt he particularly wanted, for a Ligier Team Windcheater (not the general merchandise ones, the ones the team wore) He literally took the shirt off my back in pitlane. He also gave me a pack or two of Gitanes smokes. It was a real end of term atmosphere as many of the team members went on to take holidays in Aus whilst they were there. A friend actually bought a drivers suit, everything and anything was up for sale it seemed.Through the turn 1 chicane. The observant amongst you will notice the pic is in practice.... note the Fosters sign pasting is unfinished in the background. When our session was done the painters finished the sign off in time for F1 P1!
Yes this is an old pic from years ago but it shows the top. And yes a parrot on my shoulder. And yes wearing a tie... a hockey club tie which had to be worn to official functions (ie pissups) The tie was able to stand up on its own having been dipped in beer during drinking games more times than....
My nostalgia aside....
Of course long before the WDC came to Aus we were having GPs at Albert Park.....
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 25+WDC years: it staged two non-championship F1 races in 1953 and '56. When racing was proper men in proper cars! 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.
Stirling Moss in the #7 Maserati at 1956 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park
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 before we get back to the more modern times, and the 'new' Albert Park lets go back to 1928 and the very first Australian GP.
Arthur Waite won the 1928 Australian Grand Prix (100 Miles Road Race)
The glorious story about Australian Grand Prix began in March 1928 at Phillip Island road course. Although now known as the first Australian Grand Prix, the race organized by the Victorian Light Car Club was actually called the 100 Miles Road Race and it did not assume the Australian Grand Prix title until some years later.
The race was open to light cars up to 2-litre engine capacity. Seventeen entrants were divided into four classes according to cylinder capacity. The event was conducted as two separate races, first in the morning for Class B and Class D entries, and the second in the afternoon for Class A and Class C cars. The overall winner with the best time was Arthur Waite, who was driving an Austin 7 in the smallest class A (up to 750cc).
Arthur Terdich, who was fourth in 1928, won the race in 1929 in a Bugatti Type 37 A. It was the first of four consecutive wins for Bugatti drivers.
Bill Thompson won in 1930, Carl Junker in 1931, and then again Bill Thompson in 1932, becoming the first of multiple winners. In 1933, Bill Thompson scored his third victory, driving the #5 Riley Brooklands.
The race left Phillip Island in 1936
Bob Lea-Wright has won in 1934 with Singer 9 Le Mans and then Les Murphy in 1935 with MG P-Type. It was the last Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island.
The next race, which took place on Boxing Day 1936 (December 26) was held on the temporary road circuit at Victor Harbor under the name South Australian Centenary Grand Prix. The event was later renamed to the 1937 Australian Grand Prix. In that race, Les Murphy scored his second win in an MG P-Type.
Australian Grand Prix as the first race at new Mount Panorama Circuit
The Australian Grand Prix has been revived in April 1938, serving as an inaugural event on newly-opened Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst. Two British drivers attended the race, Peter Whitehead and Alan Sinclair. Whitehead took the victory in the #1 ERA B Type, becoming the first non-Australian winner.
In 1939, the race took place on the Lobethal Circuit in South Australia. Alan Tomlinson won the race in an MG TA. Vern Leech lost a life in an accident, becoming the first fatal victim of the Australian Grand Prix.
Peter Whitehead won the 1938 Australian Grand Prix at Mount Panorama Circuit
Rotational system between Australian states since 1947
After the World War II, the Australian Grand Prix resumed in 1947 at Mount Panorama with a victory of Bill Murray in an MG TC. With that race, the rotational system between the Australian states started. The next four races took place on four different circuits (Point Cook, Leyburn, Nuriootpa, Narrogin) before returning to Bathurst in 1952. After that, the hosting venues were Albert Park, Southport, Port Wakefield and Albert Park again in 1956.
The winners in that period were Frank Pratt (1948, BMW 328), John Crouch (1949, Delahaye 135MS), Doug Whiteford (1950, Ford V8 Special), Warwick Pratley (1951, GRS Ford), Doug Whiteford (1952 and 1953, Talbot-Lago T26C) and Lex Davison (1954, HWM F2-Jaguar).
Jack Brabham’s Cooper T40 at 1955 Australian Grand Prix at Port Wakefield circuit
Jack Brabham’s win in the first ever rear-engined car(at the Aus GP)
Jack Brabham took his first of three AGP wins in 1955. The race was held in October at the Port Wakefield Circuit in South Australia.
Brabham won in the #6 Cooper T40-Bristol, the first ever rear-engine car to win the Australian Grand Prix. In the 80-lap race, he won ahead of Reg Hunt in a Maserati A6GCM and Doug Whiteford in a Talbot-Lago T26C.
I covered the Albert Park 50's races earlier so time for a jump of a few years'
Three more wins for Lex Davison until 1961
In 1957, the Australian Grand Prix was a part of the first ever Australian Drivers’ Championship. The race was held at Caversham Circuit in Western Australia and Lex Davison scored his second victory, sharing a Ferrari 625 with Bill Patterson.
Davison repeated a victory in a Ferrari 625 next year at Mount Panorama, equaling the record of three wins. Stan Jones and Alec Mildren were the winners in 1959 and 1960 respectively, at Longford and Lowood circuits. And then, in October 1961, Lex Davison won a race at South Australian Mallala Circuit in a Cooper T51-Climax, becoming the only four-time winner.
A new era started in 1962
A victory for Bruce McLaren in the 1962 Australian Grand Prix at Caversham circuit marked the beginning of new era. From then, Australian Grand Prix became a race dominated by professional drivers and teams rather than gentlemen amateurs who had won most races to date.
The Australian Grand Prix, together with New Zealand Grand Prix, became a popular destination for European drivers because it was held during European winter. It was the golden age for racing in the region, resulting in the creation of Tasman Series in 1964.
Bruce McLaren’s victory lap after he won 1962 Australian Grand Prix at Caversham circuit
Then of course the Australian GP became part of the Tasman Championship
Eight years after his first win, Jack Brabham won the Australian Grand Prix in 1963 (at Warwick Farm) and then again in 1964 (at Sandown). The 1964 event was a part of the inaugural season of Tasman Series.
In 1965, Bruce McLaren won at Longford Circuit in Tasmania after an intense fight against Jack Brabham. In the next three editions of the Australian Grand Prix, three British drivers won the race – Graham Hill (BRM) at Lakeside, Jackie Stewart (BRM) at Warwick Farm and Jim Clark (Lotus) at Sandown Park. Chris Amon put the New Zealand flag to the top podium spot in 1969, winning in a Ferrari 246T at Lakeside.
Jim Clark, Chris Amon and Jack Brabham on the front row at the 1968 Australian Grand Prix
Formula 5000 era from 1970 to 1979
In 1970, the Australian Grand Prix was not a round of either the Australian Drivers’ Championship or the Tasman Series. An era of Formula 5000 cars begun. Frank Matich won a race at Warwick Farm in a McLaren M10B. He repeated a win on the same track in 1971, driving the Matich A50-Repco Holden.
In 1972 and 1973, AGP moved to Sandown. Graham McRae scored two consecutive wins with his own-built F5000 cars, first in Leda GM1-Chevrolet and then in a McRae GM2-Chevrolet. Max Stewart became another double winner, winning the race in 1974 at Oran Park and in 1975 at Surfers Paradise.
John Goss (1976, Sandown), Warwick Brown (1977, Oran Park), Graham McRae (1978, Sandown) and Johnnie Walker (1979, Wanneroo) won four more Grand Prix events with F5000 machinery.
Alan Jones won the first Australian Grand Prix at Calder Park in 1980
1980 – historic win for F1 champion Alan Jones
In 1980, Formula 1 cars returned to the Australian Grand Prix. The race has been moved to the Calder Park, owned by entrepreneur Bob Jane. He recognized an opportunity when Australian Alan Jones won the Formula One World Championship, bringing the F1 Grand Prix race to his circuit.
Freshly crowned F1 champion led the field in the #27 Williams FW07-Cosworth and won the race ahead of Bruno Giacomelli and Alfredo Costanzo. By winning the AGP, Alan Jones joined his father Stan Jones to become the first ever father and son to win the race. As of the 2017 race, Alan Jones remains the last Australian driver to have won the Australian Grand Prix.
(Of course I did mention that an Aussie Driver has never won a WDC Australian GP)
Then we sort of get to where I mentioned from when I arrived in Aus..... the modern history if you like.
For a venue that was only officially added to the line-up as a permanent track in the Formula One World Championship in 1985, the Australian GP has already racked up an impressive history within the sport, witnessing record breaking races and sparking a barrel of controversies.
As an official F1 venue, the Australian Grand Prix started life in Adelaide on a challenging street circuit that often drew comparisons to the twisting roads of the Monaco track.
In its 10 year run, the track played host to a number of momentous races. Niki Lauda finished his three-time world championship career there, with an anti-climactic finish that saw him crash into a wall mid-race, after his brakes failed.
It was also the setting for the three-way race for the driver’s championship title between Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost and Nelson Piquet in 1986. Unluckily for Mansell (who only needed to finish third to win), his Williams suffered a rear tyre puncture, causing the car to lose control as it dragged itself along, before veering to a safe halt.
And let’s not forget the spectacular and utterly controversial crash between Mansell and Senna in 1992 that will go down in Australia’s history. Senna later scored his last ever F1 win at this track in 1993 too, six months before his tragic death.
The announcement that the race was to be moved to the Albert Park circuit in 1996 meant that Australia’s GP made the history books once again, taking the title as the only country to hold back to back Grand Prixs. It kicked things off in style as, since then, the circuit hasn’t stopped making headlines.
McLaren came under fire there in 1998, when it was revealed David Coulthard had deliberately backed off during the race to let teammate Mika Hakkinen take the lead. This ultimately led to the ban on team orders.
Then tragedy struck in 2001 during a freak accident when a crash between Ralf Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve left a tyre spinning off the track, hitting and killing marshal Graham Beveridge. Wheel tethers were later introduced to increase safety.
The following year, however, saw a happier turn of events as Australian Mark Webber finished fifth in his debut race, coming home to a standing ovation from the crowd who promptly went wild: a reaction that could be due in part to the fact that an Australian has yet to win there.
Memorable moments at the Australian Grand Prix
1996: Brundle flies at Turn 3: The first race of the modern era at Albert Park got off to a chaotic start. Martin Brundle launched his Jordan car through the air after hitting the back of David Coulthard’s McLaren at Turn 3 in a spectacular accident. Incredibly, Brundle escaped unhurt and was even able to take the restart of the Grand Prix in the team’s spare car. The corner has become renowned for large accidents, with Fernando Alonso also infamously colliding there with Esteban Gutierrez’s Haas in 2016. Alonso was forced to miss the following race as a result of his injuries in the dramatic crash.
2002: Webber’s Minardi debut: When Mark Webber made his F1 debut with Minardi in 2002, it’s fair to say that expectations weren’t particularly high for the Australian’s performance in his first race. Webber became the first Australian to start his home race since 1994, qualifying in eighteenth. By the closing stages of the Grand Prix, Webber had made his way up to fifth. The Minardi was struggling, having lost top gear and with Mika Salo closing in. Webber held on to take an impressive fifth place finish in his maiden Grand Prix, scoring Minardi’s first points since 1999. He and team boss Paul Stoddart even had their own podium celebrations in front of the enthusiastic partisan crowd!
2008: An afternoon of mayhem: The 2008 Australian Grand Prix was a chaotic one, with just seven drivers reaching the end of the race. A multitude of incidents saw five drivers end their races on the first lap, while Felipe Massa and David Coulthard had a sizeable coming together at Turn 1 before the race had reached half-distance. The largest crash of the afternoon was for Timo Glock as he ran wide and broke his suspension, sending his Toyota car airborne. Rubens Barrichello was disqualified from the race having left the pit-lane when the red light was showing. The incident occurred after the Brazilian had a bad pit-stop, in which he left his pit-box with the fuel-hose still attached. Despite all of the incidents around him, Lewis Hamilton stayed calm to take victory, while Nico Rosberg secured his first podium finish.
2009: Brawn GP’s rise from the ashes: As Honda announced their withdrawal from Formula 1 at the end of 2008, Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello were left without a drive. Luckily for them, and the workforce at the Brackley factory, Ross Brawn stepped in to save the team. Brawn GP turned up to the Australian Grand Prix having set impressive lap times in Winter Testing. Their pace was confirmed as Button took pole and went on to win the race, with his team-mate finishing as runner-up. It was the first win for a team making their debut since Mercedes in 1954.
Australian Grand Prix: Did you know?
Michael Schumacher is the most successful driver at Albert Park, scoring four wins (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004).
The lowest grid slot a Grand Prix at Albert Park has been won from is eleventh. David Coulthard achieved this in 2003, with what would be his final victory in F1.
Danish driver Kevin Magnussen finished second in Australia in 2014 on his debut. It remains his best result, and his only podium finish, to date. The race also marks McLaren’s last podium result for over five years. Of course Lando has since scored podiums, Danny Ric even a win, but prior to that...
Magnussen isn’t the only driver to have taken a podium finish on debut at Albert Park. Jacques Villeneuve and Lewis Hamilton did the same in 1996 and 2007 respectively. Villeneuve also took pole position at the inaugural event.
The 2007 Australian Grand Prix is the only time, other than the first F1 race, where every driver on the podium was making their maiden appearance for the team with whom they were competing. Kimi Raikkonen won on his Ferrari debut, while Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton both made their first podium appearances for McLaren.
It takes an estimated 290,000 man hours to assemble the circuit every year.
Lewis Hamilton took pole at the Australian Grand Prix in every season between 2014 and 2019, but converted only one of those pole positions (2015) into race victory.
Eddie Irvine is the only driver to have celebrated his maiden F1 victory at this track. He won his first Grand Prix with Ferrari here in 1999.
The 2012 Australian Grand Prix was the first F1 race to feature six active World Champions competing in it.
I wanted to put some pics in to remind us of the Adelaide years.
Keke Rosberg on his way to winning the first Adelaide GP
Michael Schumacher graced the Adelaide track early in his illustrious career
Some fairly youthful looking drivers .....
I know this was not an F1 event but a great event that never got the support it should have, but was the last race on the full Adelaide Street Circuit.... the Millennium Race of 1000 years
1985 the Start.
1991.... the 14 lapper of a GP. For many years the shortest ever GP.
The wonderfully packed pitlane
Senna in the Lotus 1986
Piquet and Mansell 1986
1994: Michael Schumacher of Germany and the Benetton team crashes at the chicane during a practice session before the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide,
Talking of the man with the flag at Adelaide..... something of a celebrity , Mr Glen Dix....Glen Dix became synonymous with the Adelaide Grand Prix, with his flamboyant flag-waving a key feature of the event.
