Prix

The Grand Prix is perhaps one of the most exciting sports in the world, calling up massive adrenaline rushes as the cars drive at breakneck speed around tracks all over the world in the Formula One. Following the Grand Prix online is one of the most exciting ways to enjoy the races, and placing bets on the outcomes is enormously popular. The teams and their high profile drivers have massive popular followings, and supporting them through online betting is as good if not better than being actually at the race.

History of the Grand Prix

Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894. It quickly evolved from a simple road race from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver. Innovation and the drive of competition soon saw speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), but because the races were held on open roads there were frequent accidents with the resulting fatalities of both drivers and spectators. Grand Prix motor racing eventually evolved into formula racing, and Formula One can be seen as its direct descendant. Each event of the Formula One World Championships is still called a Grand Prix.

The first motor race took place on July 22, 1894 and was organised by Le Petit Journal, a Parisian newspaper. In 1900, James Gordon Bennett, Jr., the owner of the New York Herald newspaper and the International Herald Tribune, established the Gordon Bennett Cup. He hoped that the creation of an international event would drive automobile manufacturers to im prove their cars. Races in this period were heavily nationalistic affairs, with a few countries setting up races of their own, but no formal championship tying them together. The rules varied from country to country and race to race, and typically centered around maximum (not minimum) weights in an effort to limit power by limiting engine size indirectly (10-15 L engines were quite common, usually with no more than four cylinders, and producing less than 50 hp).

The Australian Grand Prix

The Australian Grand Prix is a Formula One race that is part of the annual FIA Formula One World Championship. It is held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit at Albert Park in Melbourne. Prior to its inclusion in the World Championship it was held annually from 1928 to 1984 at various venues in Australia. The Australian Grand Prix is the first round of the Championship, having been the first race of each year, excluding 2006, since the event moved to Melbourne. During its years in Adelaide, the Australian Grand Prix was the final round of the Championship, replacing the Portuguese Grand Prix in that respect.

Lex Davison and Michael Schumacher are the most successful drivers in the 81 year history of the event each taking four victories each while Ferrari and McLaren have been the most successful constructors with ten victories each, their success stretching well back into the pre-Formula One history of the race. In November 2006 investment company ING became the naming rights sponsor of the Australian Grand Prix in a three-year deal.

Notable Australian Grands Prix are 1986, 1991, 1994, 2001, 2002 best performance by Austrilan driver and in 2009 Brawn, Williams, and Toyota were awarded.

An area of recent debate regarding the move of the Australian Grand Prix to Melbourne is the dwindling crowd attendances. A possible reason for the drop in attendance is that since the Grand Prix has moved to Melbourne, the race organisers have significantly decreased the number of support events at the Grand Prix. Another factor possibly influencing the crowds in 2007 was the withdrawal of Australia’s most popular domestic racing series, V8 Supercar, a factor disputed by an attendance drop of just 500. In 2009, the global financial crisis and higher unemployment was cited by Victorian Premier John Brumby as a reason for a slight drop in crowds.

Future of the Australian Grand Prix

Beyond 2010, the Victorian Government announced that Melbourne would retain the Australian Grand Prix until at least 2015. The race starting time will be moved to 5pm in order to satisfy Bernie Ecclestone’s ultimatum earlier this year, stating to the Sunday Mail that the only way Melbourne would retain the race is a move to a night race in order to increase European television audiences. However the later start will not result in a ‘night race’ as Geoscience Australia has forecast dusk for 29th of March 2009 at 7:45pm.

Place your bets online for the upcoming Grand Prix, whether it be in Australia or one of the other prestigious tracks around the world. There is no better way to enjoy the races than to show your support with a bet.