When Formula One came to Australia in 1985 it set up home in Adelaide. However, ex-racer-turned-entrepreneur Bob Jane wanted a race in Melbourne. He created a huge "thunderdome" and invented the AUSCAR series, bringing NASCAR action to Australia.
The desire to have a race in Melbourne did not wane. Despite the popular end of season slot for the Adelaide race, pressure was growing from the Melbourne motor sport community, and in 1992 Jeff Kennett was elected the new premier of the State of Victoria. He immediately set about improving Melbourne's profile. First on his list was the Australian Grand Prix.
An agreement was reached with Formula One in 1993, but the contract with Adelaide did not expire until 1995, so Kennett had plenty of time to prepare. A track was developed in Melbourne's beautiful Albert Park, part of it using closed-off public roads, and in 1996 the city held the first round of the World Championship. Since then, the venue has become the home of Formula One's season opener. The race is very popular with drivers and fans alike, and the party atmosphere of Melbourne keeps them coming back year after year.
Race Date: 28 Mar 2010
Number of Laps: 58
Circuit Length: 5.303 km
Race Distance: 307.574 km
Lap Record: 1:24.125 - M Schumacher (2004)
2009 Results :
Past Winners
2009 - Jenson Button
2008 - Lewis Hamilton
2007 - Kimi Raikkonen
2006 - Fernando Alonso
2005 - Giancarlo Fisichella
Onboard Lap with Nick Heidfeld
Drivers Standings :
1 Fernando Alonso Spanish Ferrari 25
2 Felipe Massa Brazilian Ferrari 18
3 Lewis Hamilton British McLaren-Mercedes 15
4 Sebastian Vettel German RBR-Renault 12
5 Nico Rosberg German Mercedes Benz GP Ltd 10
6 Michael Schumacher German Mercedes Benz GP Ltd 8
7 Jenson Button British McLaren-Mercedes 6
8 Mark Webber Australian RBR-Renault 4
9 Vitantonio Liuzzi Italian Force India-Mercedes 2
10 Rubens Barrichello Brazilian Williams-Cosworth 1
11 Robert Kubica Polish Renault 0
12 Adrian Sutil German Force India-Mercedes 0
13 Jaime Alguersuari Spanish STR-Ferrari 0
14 Nico Hulkenberg German Williams-Cosworth 0
15 Heikki Kovalainen Finnish Lotus-Cosworth 0
16 Sebastien Buemi Swiss STR-Ferrari 0
17 Jarno Trulli Italian Lotus-Cosworth 0
18 Pedro de la Rosa Spanish BMW Sauber-Ferrari 0
19 Bruno Senna Brazilian HRT-Cosworth 0
20 Timo Glock German Virgin-Cosworth 0
21 Vitaly Petrov Russian Renault 0
22 Kamui Kobayashi Japanese BMW Sauber-Ferrari 0
23 Lucas di Grassi Brazilian Virgin-Cosworth 0
24 Karun Chandhok Indian HRT-Cosworth 0
Constructors Standings
1 Ferrari 43
2 McLaren-Mercedes 21
3 Mercedes Benz GP Ltd 18
4 RBR-Renault 16
5 Force India-Mercedes 2
6 Williams-Cosworth 1
7 Renault 0
8 STR-Ferrari 0
9 Lotus-Cosworth 0
10 BMW Sauber-Ferrari 0
11 HRT-Cosworth 0
12 Virgin-Cosworth 0
Looking forward to Oz, I really love street circuits, and there is always action in Melbourne. A shame it wasn't the season opener this year. Cause Melbourne should be the first race and Brazil should be the last race, but he...
mclaren, mercedes, force india and another team have been required to make changes in their diffusers in time for australia........ ?!?! whats on this time?
not yet sure on who protested, it may be red bull..... but here is what it says; (from autosport)
Spoiler:
FIA closes rear diffuser loophole;
McLaren, Mercedes GP and at least two other teams will have to make modifications to their diffuser designs in time for the Australian Grand Prix, AUTOSPORT has learned, after the FIA told them that it is clamping down on a loophole being used by the outfits.
Discussions took place between the FIA and representatives from four teams over the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix weekend about the size of starter motor holes in their diffusers.
The size of their starter motor holes was believed to be excessively wide, which, although not in breach of the regulations, was reckoned to be going against the spirit of the rules.
F1's technical regulations state that a hole can exist in the diffuser to allow access for an engine starter motor - although there are no strict dimensions laid down.
Article 3.12.7 states: "A single break in the surface is permitted solely to allow the minimum required access for the device referred to in Article 5.15. [supposed to refer to starter motor, although this is Article 5.16]."
There is no specific definition of what the 'minimum' size is though - so some teams have been using exotically shaped starter motors to allow themselves to feature wide-shaped holes in the diffusers. This concept was pioneered by Brawn GP in 2009.
Such a hole in the diffuser helps create another tunnel for air to flow through - which as well as helping to produce more downforce, also ensures such downforce is more consistent throughout a lap - especially under braking, when the rear of the car rises up and the airflow can stall.
The FIA inspected the diffuser designs in Bahrain and promised to issue a clarification about the matter after the weekend had finished.
AUTOSPORT understands that the FIA has duly sent a note to all teams, laying down strict dimensions for not only a maximum diameter for the holes but also for a maximum projected area.
It is believed that McLaren, Mercedes and two other teams - believed to be Renault and Force India - will now have to make modifications to their diffuser designs in this area prior to the next race in Melbourne.
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said in Bahrain last weekend that his team was one of many that was under investigation over the matter.
"There are holes in the diffuser for the starter, the hole in ours is no bigger than the one on the championship winning car last year," he said. "And also no bigger than it is on about four other cars."