IN A new series, I will be looking back at six classic races every weekend from the country about to stage an event in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship. This is the first selection, of races in Australia between 1991 and 2010. Enjoy the archive!
1991 (Adelaide)
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| TORRENTIAL: Senna holds off a determined Mansell |
Winner: Ayrton Senna (McLaren Honda), 2nd: Nigel Mansell (Williams Renault), 3rd: Gerhard Berger (McLaren Honda)
THE final race of the 1991 championship was meant to be a happy and relaxed occasion. In the end, it turned into a farce. In fact, it was stopped after 14 laps, due to torrential rain. It is the shortest race in world championship history and only half points were awarded. Ayrton Senna started from pole and led the whole race, but came under pressure from Nigel Mansell’s Williams. The rain intensified on the Adelaide street circuit and it wasn’t long before Jean Alesi, Nicola Larini and Pierluigi Martini all crashed in a straight line on the backstraight. As aquaplaning got worse, Mansell was caught out and smashed backwards into the barriers just before the race was eventually red-flagged. He was carried away in an ambulance with minor injuries. The race was a sad end to Nelson Piquet’s distinguished career. The Brazilian finished fourth for Benetton, but was bitterly disappointed to retire from the sport after three world titles in such a damp squib.
1994 (Adelaide)
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| DECIDER: Hill and Schumacher collide |
Winner: Nigel Mansell (Williams Renault), 2nd: Gerhard Berger (Ferrari), 3rd: Martin Brundle (McLaren Peugeot)
THE first championship showdown in Adelaide since 1986 was between Michael Schumacher’s Benetton and Damon Hill’s Williams. Only one point covered the two drivers coming into the race and they were in a class of two. It ended controversially when Schumacher’s Benetton understeered off the track on Lap 36 at Westfield Bend. Hill, unsighted lapping Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s Sauber missed the German’s contact with the concrete barrier and immediately dived for a gap on the inside at the next corner. Schumacher turned in and contact was inevitable. Michael’s car was launched into the air and ended in the tyre barriers. Sadly for the British fans, Hill’s wishbone had been bent in the contact and after a slow lap back to the pits, was forced to call it a day. Nigel Mansell, in his last drive for Williams had started on pole position and overtook Gerhard Berger on Lap 63, when the Ferrari driver went down an escape road. He won fantastically to earn Williams the constructor’s championship.
1999 (Melbourne)
Winner: Eddie Irvine (Ferrari), 2nd: Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Jordan Mugen Honda), 3rd: Ralf Schumacher (Williams Supertec)
AFTER 81 attempts, Eddie Irvine won his first Grand Prix for Ferrari, but it was a gift given to him by the dominant McLaren Mercedes team. Reigning champion Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard were 1.3secs ahead of the opposition and led by 16 seconds inside of 14 laps. A spectacular rear wing failure for Jacques Villeneuve in the BAR Supertec saw the Safety Car obliterate the McLaren’s lead. Seconds later, Coulthard pulled into the pits to retire with a gearbox problem. When the Safety Car withdrew, Hakkinen was crippled by a throttle issue and Irvine took the lead into the first corner. The Finn only lasted another three laps before retiring in the garage. Michael Schumacher was also struck down by reliability problems including a puncture and recurring gear selection problems. He finished out of the points in 8th place, allowing Irvine to step out of Schumacher’s shadow and earn his day in the sun Down Under.
2003 (Melbourne)
Winner: David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes), 2nd: Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams BMW), 3rd: Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes)
THE biggest shake-up in the rules and regulations since 1997 mixed-up the field and put an end to the Ferrari F2002 dominance. Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello grabbed the front row of the grid, but changeable conditions opened the door for the Michelin-shod cars. Barrichello crashed on lap six and Schumacher made a late switch to dry tyres on a drying track. Kimi Raikkonen came through from 15th on the grid and took command of the race. The Finn even managed to have the cheek to stick Schumacher on the grass at turn one during an epic scrap. However, Raikkonen edged 1kmh over the pitlane speed limit and earnt himself a drive-through penalty. Schumacher was back infront, but needed to pit again when his barge boards fell off like a broken down Meccano set. Juan Pablo Montoya inherited the lead, but the Colombian spun his Williams on the exit on turn one and this allowed David Coulthard to come through almost unnoticed from 11th on the grid. The Scot recorded his second Australian Grand Prix triumph and his 13th win in the sport, ultimately his last. With Schumacher only managing fourth behind Montoya and Raikkonen, it was the first race since Nurburgring 1999 that neither Ferrari had managed to make the podium.
2006 (Melbourne)
Winner: Fernando Alonso (Renault), 2nd: Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes), 3rd: Ralf Schumacher (Toyota)
JENSON Button produced a stunning lap on Saturday afternoon to secure pole position, but his Honda Racing car was all at sea in the cooler conditions on Sunday. He was never able to get his tyres upto temperature after four Safety Car restarts and to compound his misery, his Honda engine exploded in a bull of flame on the penultimate corner of the race. Fernando Alonso avoided all the chaos and led the majority of the race, to win in relaxed fashion. Kimi Raikkonen came second, despite needing a new front wing during a pitstop and Ralf Schumacher recovered from a drive-through penalty to secure a great podium for Toyota. Juan Pablo Montoya failed to finish, when he killed his engine by pressing an ignition switch following a wild and wacky trip down the grass. Ferrari had a miserable weekend, as neither car finished in the top ten in qualifying and then, both Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher crashed out of the race in dramatic fashion.
2009 (Melbourne)
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| FAIRYTALE: Button and Barrichello complete an epic story |
Winner: Jenson Button (Brawn Mercedes), 2nd: Rubens Barrichello (Brawn Mercedes), 3rd: Jarno Trulli (Toyota)
AVOIDING the controversy of the double diffusers, which erupted on the opening weekend of the 2009 season, a fairytale story was unfolding at Brawn GP. In November 2008, Honda announced their immediate withdrawal from Formula One, putting the team up for sale and leaving many members of the team in limbo. After tense and frustrating negotiations, Ross Brawn completed a management buyout and with limited testing, turned up at the final pre-season test nearly a second quicker than their rivals. The car reignited the failing careers of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello and the pair secured the front row of the grid in qualifying. In the race, Button led throughout, whilst Barrichello had to battle through the field, after making a poor start and making contact with Mark Webber on lap one, which damaged his front wing. The race finished behind the Safety Car, after Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica tangled, whilst dicing for second spot with three laps to go. This completed the Brawn fairytale, with Jarno Trulli winding up third after a pitlane start. This is after Lewis Hamilton was excluded in Malaysia, following evidence was produced that he had lied to the Melbourne stewards after the race for a Safety Car incident with Trulli.
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