Retro look – Mitsubishi Australian Formula One Grand Prix 1985 – Official Preview
Positives
Negatives
Although the Melbourne Albert Park circuit is well liked, it probably still lacks the drama of the Adelaide street circuit that hosted the Australian Grand Prix between 1985 to 1995. Looking back at the preview magazine for the first Adelaide Australian Grand Prix race in 1985, it’s easy to see why the Adelaide races were so great — with names like Prost, Rosberg, Lauda, Mansell, Piquet and the young up & coming Senna on the grid in tobacco liveried turbo engines.
This official magazine wasn’t much to look at – it contained season summaries from 1950-1984 with a writeup on the mystique of Formula One by Peter Windsor including some stop motion photos of the memorable Piquet and Patrese shunt at Monaco in 1985.
For 80s F1 fans it’s a nostalgic reminder of the massive tobacco sponsorship of the sport at the time – double page Marlboro ads…how F1 has moved on (or has it?). Unfortunately the layout of this magazine compared to the slick publications today look a little amateurish. Given the race would yield so many memorable moments – Mansell tyre explosion in ’86 and Hill being taken out by Schumi in ’94, the preview magazine isn’t able to offer much local content other than a centrefold map of the circuit.
If you’re are looking for books on the history of the GP at the Adelaide Circuit — a good one, that included actual race photos was “Adelaide Alive!” by Stuart Sykes which I reviewed back in 2015.
