The Australian GP with a blink of the eye!!

25/3/11,

Something about the Australian F1 GP (Albert Park)!!

The Australian Grand Prix is a motor race held annually and is held to be the pinnacle of motor racing in Australia. The Grand Prix is the oldest surviving motor racing competition held in Australia having been held 75 times since it was first run at Phillip Island in 1928. Since 1985 the race has been a round of the FIAFormula One World Championship. It is presently held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit at Albert Park in Melbourne. Prior to its inclusion in the World Championship it was held at a multitude of venues in every state of Australia. It was a centrepiece of the Tasman Series between 1964 and 1972 and was a round of the Australian Drivers' Championship on many occasions between 1957 and 1983. It became part of the Formula One World Championship in 1985 and was held at the Adelaide Street Circuit in Adelaide, South Australia from that year to 1995, before moving to Melbourne in 1996.

The Australian Grand Prix is the second round of the Championship, having been the first race of each year, excluding 2006 and 2010, since the event moved to Melbourne. During its years in Adelaide, the Australian Grand Prix was the final round of the Championship, replacing the Portuguese Grand Prix in that respect. As the final round of the season, the Grand Prix hosted a handful of memorable Grand Prix, most notably the 1986 and 1994 events which saw those respective titles decided.

Australian driver Lex Davison and German driver Michael Schumacher are the most successful drivers in the 83 year history of the event taking four wins each; whileMcLaren have been the most successful constructors with eleven victories, their success stretching well back into the pre-Formula One history of the race. Rubens Barrichello is the only driver to have started every single race since it returned to the inner Melbourne street circuit, which had been used previously for the Grand Prix twice in the 1950s.

For the 2010 event Australian airline Qantas returns to the role of naming rights sponsor of the event, having last sponsored the race in 2001. The most recentAustralian Grand Prix was won by British driver Jenson Button, successfully defending his previous 2009 victory in the race.

As for the new season (2011) during the 9 months of the year when the track is not required for Grand Prix preparation or the race weekend, most of the track can be driven by ordinary street-registered vehicles either clockwise or anti-clockwise.

Only the sections between turns 3, 4 and 5, then 5 and 6, differ significantly from the race track configuration. Turn 4 is replaced by a car park access road running directly from turns 3 to 5. Between turns 5 and 6, the road is blocked. It is possible to drive from turn 5 on to Albert Road and back on to the track at turn 7 though two sets of lights control the flow of this option. The only set of lights on the actual track are half-way between turns 12 and 13 where drivers using Queens Road are catered for.

The speed limit is generally 50 km/h which is slower than an F1 car under pit lane speed restrictions. Some short sections have a speed limit of 40 km/h. The back of the track, turns 7 to 13 inclusive, is known as Lakeside Drive. Double lines separate the two-way traffic along most of Lakeside Drive with short road islands approximately every 50 metres. This means overtaking is illegal here.

Approximately 50% of the track edge is lined with short parkland-style chain-linked fencing leaving normal drivers less room for error than F1 drivers have during race weekend. There is however substantial shoulder room between the outside of each lane and the fencing.

Suspension

Melbourne has a number of chicanes where a responsive car with a good change of direction is critical. The suspension therefore has to be relatively stiff to achieve this, but at the same time the car needs to be soft enough to use the curbs and have good stability under braking. An optimum set-up therefore demands a compromise, dovetailing hard and soft settings accordingly.

Brakes

Albert Park is a demanding circuit on brakes with six major braking zones demanding stops from over 300 km/h. It is not the severity of the braking, but the frequency that makes an efficient brake cooling solution a priority during the race. The track surface can be bumpy in the braking zones, but nothing too significant and a soft enough car should be able to ride the bumps without locking up under braking.

Tires

The temporary nature of Albert Park means the track is 'green' and dusty at first and gradually improves over the weekend. With the re-introduction of slicks this year, the team will pay careful attention during free practice to the behaviour of the super-soft and medium compounds that Bridgestone will bring to this race - both of which must be used during the race. The high track temperatures that we usually experience in Melbourne will play a role in determining which compound is preferred by the drivers.

Done with the valuable help of Wikipedia and from the F1 official site!!