General information
- Circuit : Melbourne
- Location : Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia
- Opened : 1996
- Grand Prix Held : 13
- Years : 1996-2008
- First Grand Prix : 1996
- Last Grand Prix : 2008
- Circuit Length : 5.303 km
- Race Distance : 307.574 km (58 laps)
- Circuit Details : Temporary road course, Clockwise
- Corners : 16
- Spectator capacity: 80,000
Recent stats
- Lap Record : M Schumacher-1:24.125 (2004, Ferrari)
- Fastest Lap 2008 : H Kovalainen - 1:27.418 (McLaren)
- Pole 2008 : L Hamilton - 1:26.714 (McLaren)
- Podium 2008 : 1. L Hamilton 2. N Heidfeld 3. N Rosberg
History
Melbourne fought hard to win the right to stage the Australian Grand Prix, overcoming stern protests from the environmental lobby, and provided a memorable first race in the superb settings of Albert Park.
Facilities are excellent, and novel; a “shuttle boat” moves photographers around the vantage points using the major central lake.
Albert Park staged racing in the 1950s , including two events called the Australian Grand Prix but not counting towards the World Championship.
The circuit has an interesting combination of fast, flowing corners, and a tight “hairpin” type bend system onto the start-finish straight.
The 2009 race will take place later than usual with a 5pm local time start after organisers compromised with Bernie Ecclestone, who wanted Australia to become a night race.
Along with the new timeslot came a new contract with Melbourne set to host the Australian GP until 2015.
