Profile: Albert Park
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
- Direction: clockwise
- Lap Length: 5.303km
- Race Laps: 58
- Race Legnth: 307.574km
- Lap Record: 1:24.125 (Michael Schumacher, 2004)
- Albert Park, as the name suggests, is a street circuit winding around the lake of Albert Park in the central business district of Australia's second largest city, Melbourne. Melbourne traditionally holds the opening round of the championship and is a popular event among teams and fans alike having won the 'race of the year' award three times in the past five seasons.
The circuit itself is a combination of fast flowing corners, hairpins and long straights. It is not an especially challenging over one lap, but it is nonetheless a favoured layout amongst the drivers as it usually holds an exciting race.
As with most street circuits, the surface in places is quite bumpy. Accompanied by the variety of tight turns, this means the cars take on a Monaco-like setup with a relatively high clearance and downforce.
A lap with David Coulthard…
Powering up through the gears along the start-finish line at the 3.295 mile / 5.303 km Albert Park circuit, you reach some 190mph / 305kph in seventh gear, before braking hard for the right-left weave of turns one and two. Your speed drops to 87mph / 140kph in second gear and then increases through the left weave to some 127mph / 200kph. You apply the throttle on the exit for the Aughtie Drive straight, reaching some 185mph / 300kph in seventh on the approach to the tight right of turn three, which is taken at 50mph / 80kph in second gear, which marks the hardest breaking point on the track as you pull some –3.5G.
This is again immediately followed by turn four, a sharp left hander which flicks you onto the short Whitford straight. Power on, you reach 150mph / 240kph in fifth gear along the straight before dabbing the brakes for the long, flowing right hander of turn five, which sees your speed decrease only slightly to 142mph / 230kph in fourth gear. It is one of those corners that you take flat in qualifying.
You need to maintain as much speed as possible through this sequence of bends to ensure you have a good exit as you power down the short straight that takes you to the tight right of turn six, reaching 177mph / 285kph in fifth, before braking for the second gear right hander which is taken at 75mph / 120kph. Exiting, you take it completely flat through the sweeping right of the Lauda curve, reaching some 177mph / 285kph in sixth gear on the approach to Clark. This sharp right is negotiated at 60mph / 100kph in second gear.
Hard on the throttle, another long, sweeping bend follows. You need to accelerate through the left of turn ten you as your speed increases to some 183mph / 294kph in seventh gear, before the fast left-right chicane of eleven and twelve. Maintaining fifth gear through this section of the track, with your speed not dropping below 130mph / 210kph, you keep on the throttle as you exit along the short straight that leads to Ascari. Another hard braking point, your speed drops from 185mph / 300kph in sixth gear to 77mph / 125kph in second for the tight right hander.
A short straight leads to Stewart, another right hander, which is taken at 110mph / 180kph in third gear. Again a short burst of acceleration on the approach to the 90-degree right of Prost, you reach 145mph / 235kph in fourth before braking hard for the final two corners. The first of which is a tight left hander and is negotiated in first gear at 45mph / 70kph. On the exit, you apply throttle momentarily and shortshift into third gear for the last bumpy right hander that flicks you back onto the start finish straight to begin another lap.
Circuit maps as featured in F1 Championship Manager.
