ALBERT PARK 

Overview

Altough a temporary installation, the Albert Park circuit is unlike any other, set in a beautiful park around a huge artificial lake to the south of the city, and the organisers have mastered the art of providing excellent facilities overnight. The circuit winds over roadways around the park and is a good combination of high- medium-, and low-speed corners, including a couple of chicanes and several overtaking areas in braking zones.

Specifications:

• Circuit Length: 5.303 km
• Race Distance: 307.574 km
• First GP: 1996
• Race Laps: 58
• Race Start Time: 04:00 CET
• Local Time: CET + 10 hours
• Winner 2006: Fernando Alonso, Renault 
• Lap Record: Michael Schumacher 2004 - Ferrari - 1:24.125 in lap 29

History:

Since 1996 the season opener has been held in Melbourne's Albert Park Circuit. Albert Park is also a street circuit, just outside the central business area near the beachside district of St. Kilda. The circuit is smooth but can be quite dusty and is fairly low-grip and tough on brakes. Drivers approach the first corner at more than 300 kph. The development of the circuit was strongly criticised by environmentalists who protested about the use of parkland. The race now draws a crowd of around 400,000 over the four days.

The Albert Park circuit has been used before, for six years in the 1950´s, and was the venue for the Australian GP for F1 cars (but not part of the World Championship) in 1953 and ´56, when it was won by Stirling Moss in a Maserati 250F; it also ran international Formula Libre and Touring Car races. In its modern guise, Melbourne has proved to be as popular as Adelaide with the F1 teams and fans, and has now assumed the role of traditional season-opener. 

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