Haven't been here for years... all new and shiny these days.
Haven't been here for years... all new and shiny these days.
Member since:31.10.2000
Reviews:148
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With the second round of the Formula One Season now completed I figured it was high time to finish this opinion on the previous round. As I mentioned once or twice in my previous opinion, my recent excursion to Melbourne was primarily to watch the Australian Grand Prix which is obviously the focus of this opinion. Rather than give to much information about the race itself as I'm sure anybody who is interested in what happended either watched or read about it and those that aren't interested quite blatantly don't care and are probably wondering why they are actually reading this. This opinion will instead be about the whole four days I spent at Albert Park focused not specifically on Sundays race but on the event as a whole. The first part of this opinion will be a general account of what I got upto and the second half will contain more useful and probably boring information on other aspects of the Australian Grand Prix.
Day One
Arising early and almost hangover free myself and four travelling friends made the twenty minute walk to Albert Park from our hostel on nearby Punt Road. My excitement of finally getting to a Grand Prix circuit, having supported the sport for as long as I can remember, was not really tempered by the grey gloomy skies or the fact that there would be no Formula One cars on display on day one. I was almost like a kid at Christmas and this enthusiasm only grew as I heard the impressive throaty roar of a V8 engine fire up in the distance.
We quickly made our way through the Gate 10 and proceeded to the Schumacher stand located between the final two corners of the circuit and just before the home straight. The view from the stand does not allow you to see a huge amount of the track but the penultimate corner is the slowest on the circuit and we were able to see the entrance into the pit lane. In addition a massive screen relaying images from around the circuit could not have been better positioned so I was more than happy with our seats.
The morning consisted of practice and qualifying sessions for both V8 Supercars which are the Australian equivalent of the British Touring Car and even included ex-touring car driver Paul Radisich, the CleanEvent Nations Cup in which Ferrari's, Porche's, Lamborghini's and Dodge Vipers battled it out, an Historic Car race, Stunt motorbike displays and even the Two-Seated Minardi hurtling around for a few laps. I must admit that after the initial excitment of seeing the CleanEvent and the V8 practice, the exceptional noise of the Vipers, the acrid smell of rubber and the impressive speed of the cars hurtling round the corners my mind soon began to wander, my anticipation of finally seeing the F1 cars growing by the hour.
After a few hours we decided to check out the rest of the circuit
and there are an abundance of things to do. In the centre of the park an exhibition of racing cars old and new was certainly worth the hour or so we spent wandering around, the majesty of some of the cars from the 50's and 60's as well as several present day performance machines is enough to have any racing fan grinning like a school kid. I must admit though the sight of the new Porsche GT3 was the highlight for me, such a sleek, powerful downright sexy car I have never seen before.
After this it was time to check out the merchandise stands of which there are a plethora. I'll describe these in more detail in a later section. Needless-to-say all manner of supporters paraphenalia can be purchase, from caps to waterproofs, shot glasses to programmes, unsurprisingly the Ferrari stands seemed to receive a lot of attention but it was the Montoya hats that proved the most popular item and were sold out by lunchtime on the second day. Anyway enough wittering, the remainder of the day was spent enjoying several schooners of Carlton Draft and an excellent final CleanEvent Nations cup race in which future home Auzzie star Ryan Briscoe achieved an impressive second, especially noteable after he early managed to stick his Ferrari into a wall.
Perhaps I should at least mention the bevy of beautiful women who paraded around in remarkably skimpy outfits, sponsoring Foster's, Karcher and Gillette, certainly an impressive sight that always distracted us from the poor weather. Anyway my appetite well and truly whetted I headed home at just after six, the first day an enjoyable one especially when considering the main attraction had not even been on display.
Day Two
The second day, Friday, the main focus was understandably the first showing of the Formula One cars, from 11.00 to 12.00 and 13.00 to 14.00, the stands were considerably busy than at anytime on the previous day. It is difficult to describe the awesome noise that an accelerating F1 car actually makes and to sit for an hour without eyeplugs is certainly not something I'd advise. The impressive acceleration and even more breathtaking deceleration was incredible and combined with the almost overwhelming noise, excitement in the stands and the knowledge that just forty metres away were the famous drivers, either loved or hated, piloting their distinctive sleek rocket like machines, it was truly a magnificent spectacle.
The first qualifying took place on a drying track so it was difficult to draw any real conclusions although over a beer at lunch we all seemed to have our expert opinions (as a Ferrari and dare I admit it Schumacher fan I was right of course). What was initially clear was firstly the pace of the Ferrari's and secondly the mastery of Schumi on a damp track, even in the small section we could see in front of us, the line he took through the corners was different and considerably quicker than any of the other drivers, testament to this fact was that many copied this line in the second of the sessions.
The second session confirmed my suspicions the Ferrari team, using a hybrid 2001-2002 car rather than their new car would certainly be the team to beat during the next two days, with Schumi in imperious form. I left the circuit after watching several of the other competitions with a slightly unreal feeling, it still seemed strange to think that I had just been watching Formula One live. Strange but exciting yet the real action would begin on Day Three with all important qualifying.
Day Three
An early start today as the first of two forty-five minute practice sessons began at nice o'clock the second running from 10:15 - 11:00. The hierachy did not change much from the previous day, the Ferrari's still dominant, the Williams seemed quicker than the struggling Maclarens and bar an impressive debut from Toyota nothing particularly surprising appeared to be taking place. The Jaguars once again seemed to be the massive underachievers only just staying ahead of the lowly Minardi's.
As I mentioned, whilst practice was certainly interesting to watch, the real start of the weekend is the Qualifying which took place at 13.00. During the one hour session each driver is allowed to complete a total of twelve laps, the fastest of which decides where he will start on the grid, in reality it is only four flying laps as getting out of and returning to the pits takes up a lap each. Sadly, qualifying was probably the most disappointing aspect of the weekend as after just fifteen minutes and a delay for a crash the rain began to fall. This meant that the usual exciting swapping of positions right up to the final run was lost, as on the wet circuit no driver would be able to beat their first time.
The grid held only one real surprise Barichello had just pipped Schumi for pole, behind them no real upsets, the partisan Australian commentary was getting far to excited over Mark Webbers 17th position and the unlucky Sato failed to qualify (he was eventually allowed in due to his lap times in practice sessions). After a subdued qualifying I hoped that the race would live upto expectations.
Day Four
After another F1 Practice, the remainder of the other classes completed their final races of the weekend and the countdown to the race was well and truly on. For the first time in the entire four days patches of blue sky were evident and the sun seemed desperate to grace the upcoming spectacle with its presence. Having seen the drivers parade around the circuit waving to the crowd at 11:15, the mood was firmly set with palpable tension and excitment in the now completely filled stands. A plethora of warm up events followed including another impressive air display by the Australian Air force and suddenly it was almost two o'clock.
Watching the monitor as the lights went off, the usual feeling of anticipation when watching on TV was far exceeded the revving powerful engines achieving a thunderous roar. The start itself seemed unbelivable with Ralf easily the quickest, cut off by a swerving Barichello and being launched skyward and into the gravel trap, the ensuing carnage decimated half of the field. Initially silence decended over much of the stand but seeing Ralf was alright and that no one appeared to be hurt, the liklihood of a restart was the single topic of discussion.
I must admit to being surprised by the decision to use the safety car for so many laps rather than restart the race. Several laps later as the safety car peeled into the pits Coulthard, who had greatly profited from the carnage, threw away his lead right infront of our stand as he took to the grass in one of the worst driver mistakes I've ever witnessed. The next ten or so laps were all about Schumi's tustle with his most likely challenger for the title, Montoya and inevitably Schumi after several laps of setting up the manoever cut past the young pretender before disappearing into the distance.
Whilst as a contest the race appeared to be effectively over, the diffence between seeing the event live and watching it on TV is vast, it is very difficult to become uninterested when you have a 800hp motorcar thundering past you ever few seconds. As Schumi charged through the checked flag, on a circuit now doused in sunshine, I leapt from my seat for the inevitable dash sown the straight.
About ten minutes later, after the track was cleared, I fought my way over a fence and sprinted down the pit lane, I just reached the podium section as the national anthems finished and the champagne was cracked open. Standing amongst the screaming Tifosi and the delirious Ozzie contingent, who were celebrating Webers impressive fifth on debut, was a magnificent way to end a truly entertaining four days. I well advise anyone with the slightest interest in Formula One to go and watch a Grand Prix, they are certainly worth the investment.
The Factual Bit
As promised, a few bits of information for those thinking of going to the Grand Prix.
Getting Tickets
First decision to make on deciding what tickets you want to get are whether or not you want a seat in a Stand or merely General Admission tickets that have reduced access to the ground. If you've made the effort to get all the way to Melbourne a four day ticket for one of the stands is really the only way to go. This throws open another dilemna where to sit. The choices essentially boil down to a more expensive seat on the straight, the Fangio stand being the ideal position for the start, or a slightly less expensive seat that allows you to see a little more of the action.
This led to me choosing the Schumacher stand which is located between the last two bends before the main start-finish straight, the cost a reasonable $339 (about 125 quid) for the four days and the position proved very impressive as the penultimate corner on the Albert Park circuit is the slowest hence allowing an excellent opportunity for photos and the like. The Fangio stand weighs in at $549 (approximately 200 quid) and the others are somewhere between the two. If I ever have the fortune to go again I think the Prost stand probably gives the best of both worlds a view down the straight and the angle to see the last two corners.
But enough information... if you do plan to go the ticket company in Australia is called Ticketmaster7 and their website can be found at www.ticketmaster7.com.au.
Albert Park
Albert Park is the scenic venue for the race and is a magnificent location. It is about forty five minutes walk from central Melbourne and can be reached by a regular tram routes, buses or of course taxis. The park can be accessed through a number of different gates although from all sides. Once through the gate after a cursory security check, no alcohol is allowed to be brought in, it quickly becomes evident what a magnificent location this is for a Grand Prix. The lake in the centre of the park is a magnificent feature and with the Melbourne skyline shimmering in the sun in the background it makes for an impressive site.
Facilities
Every possible need is incredibly well catered for, food stores selling all manner of different fare, from simple sandwiches to any possible fast food you might desire. Personally, whilst the food is surprisingly inexpensive for such an event, fish and chips albeit a bit sparse on the chips was only $6.50 (about 2.40 English) I'd advise you bring in your own pic-nic as there is plenty of seating and grass areas around the track. But enough of the mundane there are also a multitude of Fosters beertents that served schooners of beer (400ml) for a reasonable $4.30 - (about 1.60 English) as well as wine and a smattering of different spirits. Thankfully there are also numerous clean toilet facilities which are essential after spending a few hours at the aforementioned Fosters tents.
Merchandise
There are a multitude of merchandise stalls, each team has their own selection of supporters paraphanalia, obviously T-Shirts are the popular choice along with caps and many other items of clothing. If there isn't a particular team that you support then general merchandise with a variety of Australian Grand Prix 2002 motifs can be purchased. Prices are expensive but not extortionate for such an event, T-Shirts are fifteen to twenty pounds with caps a similar price. The one essential purchase is a program which was a reasonable $10 or about three pounds fifty.
The Result
Just in case you were wondering: -
1. Micheal Schumacher 2. Juan Pablo Montoya 3. Kimi Raikkonen 4. Eddie Irvine 5. Mark Webber 6. Mika Salo ---------------------- 7. Alex Yoong
Thanks for reading.
Mercury (SB)
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Excellent review thank you for the insight am thinking about going to it next year
phil2001 14.05.2002 21:28
Flippin brilliant review. As someone who has yet to visit a Grand Prix then it was an eye opener. Regards Phil
petersmyth1 27.03.2002 02:04
SB nice op but since this is UK Ciao I think your prices are optimistic to say the least X A$ plus plane fare. Not to worry I still VHed it because you tried hard. Cheers, ......Peter
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Advantages: The first Gp is always one of the best and the 2001 race was no exception Disadvantages: The death of a marshall which should have been prevented after Monza 2000
Mar 20th, 2002
(Mar 22nd, 2002)
very helpful by (100%):
