Melbourne Circuit
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This track has been used with the permission of www.etracksonline.co.uk
Races around the streets of Melbourne date back to the early 1950s, when the Melbourne Grand Prix took place. Political pressure ended these races in 1958, and racing in Melbourne went into decline.
This changed in the 1990s.
Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett wanted to lure the Australian Grand Prix away from Adelaide, in order to promote the status of Melbourne on the world stage.
As a result, the FIA moved the race to Albert Park in Melbourne for the 1996 Season.
Since then, the race has become one of the most popular on the F1 Calendar, and the Australian Grand Prix has moved from the traiditional closer of the season, to the traditional opener.
There have been two big accidents at the track however. In 1996, Martin Brundle flipped in the air several times yet somehow emerged unscathed. In 2001, a marshall was killed after a collision between Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher.
Those events have led to improved safety at the circuit, and the race is well established on the Formula One calendar. Curiously, it is not on the Australian V8 Supercars Series, with the track happy to concentrate on Formula One.
