Australian Grand Prix 2008
A fresh start, a new beginning, a whole new battle.
The 2007 season is history - the drama, the excitement, the spying, the hearings, the hate, the love, and the thrill of a new champion.
Now we move on to the 2008 season and the opening race at Albert Park in Melbourne for the 2008 Australian Grand Prix.
A few quick details:
Race Date: 16th March 2008
Number of Laps: 58
Circuit Length: 5.303 km (3.295 mi)
Race distance: 307.574 km (191.126 mi)
Lap record: 1:24.125 – Michael Schumacher (2004)
2007 Winner: Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari)
The first official Formula One race in Australia was in 1985 in Adelaide and the first race at the current Melbourne track was in 1996.
And it started with a bang, thanks in part to Martin Brundle who had a spectacular crash on the very first lap of the race, which broke his car in half. Since then we have had many spectacular crashes during this race, Ralf Schumacher took to the air in 2002, and Jacques Villeneuve also had a frightening accident in 2001, which led to the death of Graham Beveridge. In 2007 David Coulthard also had a spectacular accident jumping over the cockpit of Alex Wurz who was lucky not to be struck on the head.
Albert Park has been hosting the first race of the Formula One season since that 1996 debut, except for the 2006 race when it was third on the calendar.
Five Facts about the Australian Grand Prix:
- The winner of the inaugural race at Albert Park in 1996 was Damon Hill.
- The race for the crown has been decided twice at the Australian Grand Prix - once in 1986 when Alain Prost won both the race and the title, after a spectacular tyre blowout by Nigel Mansell on lap 63 - and in 1994 when Michael Schumacher won the crown after both he and Damon Hill retired. Both these races were held at Adelaide.
- There have been 12 Australian Formula One drivers - Two of these drivers have gone on to become Formula One Champions - The amazing Jack Brabham (1959, 1960, 1966) and 1980 champion Alan Jones.
- Current Australian driver Mark Webber, who debut at this track in 2002 raced on to finish fifth in that race, in a Minardi to boot!
- The all time champion of the Australian Grand Prix is Michael Schumacher - he has won this race four times (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004).
The 2008 race promises to deliver on the exciting racing we have had at this track since 1996 and drivers like Kimi Räikkönen, Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa and Heikki Kovalainen, who will start his first race for McLaren at this tack will all vie for the first win of the season and a dream start to their 2008 campaign.
Unfortunately it also seems as if the end is near for this track. Recently Bernie Ecclestone has been trying, but to no avail, to convince the Australian officials to hold a night race in the future. And as everyone knows, when Bernie doesn’t get his way, he does not mind to look elsewhere for new venues.
