Next weekend Formula 1 will once again make an official visit to Australia. Over several decades, the setting of the Green Continent has become a true Royal Races classic, and the history of the relationship between Australia and Formula 1 began in 1985. Let us remember the history of the first, and immediately brilliant! ! — F1 racing on the Green Continent.
The Australian Grand Prix will soon turn 100 years old, but it became part of Formula 1 relatively recently
In general, the first Australian Grand Prix took place long before the appearance of the championship called Formula 1, already in 1928. Naturally, this competition had nothing to do with international motorsport, but represented local fun. For the first eight years, the Australian Grand Prix was held at the Philip Island Circuit, located on Phillip Island (140 kilometers south of Melbourne).
Subsequently, the Australian Grand Prix changed entries quite frequently, moving from one circuit to another. Interestingly, in 1953, the main automobile event on the continent came to Albert Park, the same place where Formula 1 races are now held. The track configuration in the 50s, of course, was different from the modern track, but The legends of the past still ran around the same lake as now. By the way, one of the two races held on the original version of the track was won by the legendary Stirling Moss.
1971 Australian Grand Prix
Photo: Fairfax Media via Getty Images
Over time, Formula 1 stars began to attend the Australian Grand Prix, which was held as part of the local racing championships. The popularity of the Australian Grand Prix among Formula 1 drivers peaked in the 1960s. The Australian Grand Prix then again became a race of regional importance, but already at the beginning of the next decade, the representatives of “Royal Racing” once again approached Kangaroo Country.
Around the same time, rumors began to circulate about the inclusion of the Australian Grand Prix in the Formula 1 season calendar. In 1982 it got to the point that a stage on the outskirts of Melbourne (not in Albert Park) was chosen. as a reserve Grand Prix in case of cancellation of one of the officially authorized stages. At that time, the “Queen of motorsport” never arrived in Australia, but three years later, in 1985, the stage at the Adelaide city circuit was officially included in the Formula 1 season calendar. This is how the race began. history.
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The drivers immediately liked the Adelaide circuit.
In 1985, the Australian Grand Prix had the honor of closing the Formula 1 season. At first, racers and teams were wary of the new stage in Adelaide. In the 1980s, the “Queen of Motorsport” actively explored new street circuits, each of which was terrible to varying degrees. However, the fears of the participants were not confirmed: the Adelaide track was not like the failed circuits of Las Vegas, Detroit and Dallas. The Australian track was quite spacious and fast and, more importantly, it was a relatively interesting track from a configuration point of view: without endless stretches of 90-degree corners, common on American street circuits.
Upon arriving in Adelaide, the drivers immediately fell in love with the new track. At the Australian Grand Prix, drivers liked everything from the colorful wildlife that contrasts with the concrete jungle of America (part of the setup took place in a park area) to the smooth road surface, which It seriously stood out from the rest of the city. circuits. The Adelaide track was also appreciated by Bernie Ecclestone, who said with annoyance that the Australian promoters had made life difficult for his colleagues by raising the level of organization of the Grand Prix.
Regarding the sporting component of the stage in Australia, the race in Adelaide did not have much importance in the tournament. Two stages before the end of the season, Alain Prost secured the title, thus closing all doubts about the championship winner. However, the Australian Grand Prix could not be considered completely free of intrigue. The question about the winner of the Constructors’ Championship remained unanswered: Ferrari was 10 points behind McLaren (15 points were managed to recover in one stage). In a separate line, it is also worth highlighting the main poster of that racing weekend: the great champion Niki Lauda competed in his last Formula 1 race in Adelaide.
The farewell weekend of racing did not start very well for Lauda, to put it mildly: only 16th result in qualifying: the Austrian lost four seconds to the session leader, Ayrton Senna. Behind the Lotus driver was Nigel Mansell, the Briton’s Williams teammate, Keke Rosberg, appeared for the third time and the new champion, Alain Prost, finished the classification in fourth place.
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Senna and Lauda fought for victory, but both lost
The start of the first Australian Grand Prix in the history of the formula turned out to be perfect: Senna hesitated in the first meters of the distance, which Mansell immediately took advantage of. Even on the first lap, Ayrton tried to regain the lost lead, trying to pass the Williams driver on the inside path, but made contact. Mansell’s car was critically damaged (he retired from the race), but Senna managed to continue the race: an unsuccessful attempt to overtake cost the Brazilian only one position – Keke Rosberg became the new leader.
Until about halfway through the race the race went smoothly. The only thing that upset the balance was Alain Prost’s retirement due to a blown engine, which gave Ferrari some hope of winning the team championship (spoiler: the constructors’ championship will go to McLaren).
But it really started to burn closer to the halfway point of the race. Senna finally caught up with Rosberg, who was suffering from increased tire wear: the Brazilian was about to overtake, when suddenly the race leader turned sharply towards the pits and came into contact again. As a result of a minor collision, Ayrton lost fragments of his front wing.
On the next lap, Senna intended to pit to replace the wing, but due to a lack of downforce, he was unable to take the corner. After dusting off the grass, the Brazilian lost a lot of time and also completely broke the front wing. With the car damaged, Senna lost so much that after only two laps, Rosberg, who had managed to change his shoes, caught up with him.
Ayrton Senna in 1985
Photo: Mike King/Getty Images
In the end, the Brazilian finally made it to the pits. He returned to the track in third position, behind Niki Lauda. However, Senna quickly regained second position thanks to the difference in tire shape. And after a couple of laps, Ayrton completely took the lead – Rosberg entered the pits again. However, the Lotus driver did not lead the pack for long: after three laps, Senna was ahead of Lauda. For the Austrian champion, victory in the farewell race could have been a beautiful point in a brilliant career, but, unfortunately, he was not destined to win that day: after leading only one lap, Lauda ended the race against the wall due to a brake. failure.
Senna was once again victorious; It seemed that the path to victory was open for him, but the Brazilian suffered a setback again, this time critical. In Ayrton’s Lotus, the engine failed and he retired from the race. Rosberg had no other competitors that day, so the Finn calmly switched to energy-saving mode. In the end, Keke finished the race without incident, achieving his fifth (and last) victory in Formula 1 and saying goodbye to Williams in style. Ligier driver Jacques Laffite, who started 20th, finished second and his teammate Philippe Streiff completed the top three.
Jacques Laffite in the 1985 season
Photo: Mike King/Getty Images
Perhaps it was Ligier who could be considered the main triumph of that day. Things were not going well for the team in the 1985 season, so the double podium was a colossal success for the French team. Also, curiously, the team almost lost a possible win on the last lap of the race: trying to get to second place, Streiff crashed into the back of his teammate’s car. Laffite’s car was not damaged, but the perpetrator damaged the suspension bars. The French were lucky that the incident occurred on the last lap: Philippe reached the finish line on three wheels. However, despite the positive result, team boss Guy Ligier was furious at his driver’s actions. There is a version that it was because of this incident that Streiff was not offered a contract for the next season.
The debut Grand Prix in Adelaide was definitely a crowd pleaser. However, this race was far from being the most brilliant and dramatic of those that the Australian city track hosted…
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