Albert Park
Circuit info:
- Address:
Albert Park
220 Albert Road
South Melbourne
Victoria 3205
Australia- PH:
- (61) 3 92587100
- Fax:
- (61) 03 9682 0410
- Circuit length:
- 3.294 miles/5.301 km
- Circuit type:
- Temporary parkland course
Circuit history:
Bringing racing to the people has always been what Albert Park has been about.
Races began in 1953 on a fast 4.3 mile circuit laid out on roads around an artificial lake just south of the downtown area.
Immediately successful with the racers and public alike, the Australian GP was won by Doug Whiteford in an imported Talbot-Lago. The Australian GP and Tourist Trophy returned in 1956, and Stirling Moss won the non-championship F1 race, which was part of a celebration of the Olympics, also held in Melbourne that year.
The great Lex Davison won the Victoria Trophy in his Ferrari in '57, while Moss returned in '58 to win the Melbourne Grand Prix. Political pressure forced the end of racing after that final race however, and the sound of racing engines faded away.
Events came full circle in the 1990s, though, when Victoria state premier Jeff Kennett hatched a plan to steal the Australian GP away from Adelaide, as part of a drive to promote Melbourne as a more dynamic and interesting city.
The Albert Park circuit was suitably revived and the race was duly awarded from 1996 onwards. Protests from environmentalists have bubbled away in the background at each event, but the investment in the circuit has meant improved sporting facilities for locals all year round.
Albert Park now ranks as one of the most popular stops on the F1 calendar, and the circuit layout has found favour with the majority of drivers - although perhaps Martin Brundle would have more reason than most to disagree!
Tragedy struck in 2001 race however, when an errant wheel from a collision between Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher penetrated crash barriers and killed a trackside marshall. A re-design of fence openings will hopefully prevent a repetition in future years.
