Tales from the trip.
Destination. Australia.
The Melbourne Moment. Long time F1Weekly listener Jason Bentley, the Original JB, and moi enjoying the excitement of the Australian Grand Prix. The race broke the Red Bull winning chain. Since the start of the 2023 season both Ferrari wins have come courtesy of Carlos Sainz Jr. Some are wondering if Scuderia is letting the wrong Charlie go. Getting to and moving around the Albert Park circuit is easy and convenient.
No Vacancy. The house was full. Traditional and Netflix generation made the 2024 Australian Grand Prix weekend crowd swell to over 425k people. Max on his third pole position of the season was looking for a third successive win. Carlito got a Brembo brake! Pre-race festivities included a demo run on a Honda bike by Mick Doohan, and his son Jack drove a vintage Brabham F1 car. Access to the track by tram is free. Melbourne is a town worth visiting.
At the Gates of Heaven. Agnes Carlier has been around the F1 paddock since the days of Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi. She and the Ferrari pilots had the same paymaster; Philip Morris, the wonderful folks who brought Marlboro colors to the world of Formula 1. Agnes was their media contact person.
The Waltons. Dave met Katrina, and told her about the F1Weekly podcast. The rest is history. And the future – as we hope our paths will cross again on a Bullet train to Suzuka. We may be turning Japanese in the year 2025. I really think so.
The Waltons are from Perth, Western Australia, and thoroughly enjoy their Motorsport, from Australian Supercars to Formula 1.
Melbourne CBD.
Impressive architecture adorns the Central Business District. Albert Park, Melbourne Cricket Ground and Rod Laver arena are all nearby.
What’s for dinner? Everything, from Kebabs & Kangaroo meat to cappuccino.
Dennis ‘the Menace’ Lillee. Australia is a great sporting nation. Lillee was a larger than life character in the world of Cricket. This statue is at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Lady from Long Beach. Built by McDonnel Douglas near LA, this bird was marketed as the Boeing 717 after their merger with the Seattle giant. This was our link between Launceston, near Longford in Tasmania and Melbourne. Relax we did on board.
RELAX. The Aussie attitude.
– – Nasir Hameed.