Adelaide: A track that time forgot

If you wander through the parklands just north of the city center, past the quiet cafés and office blocks, you might notice the faint texture of the roads and a few faded signposts.

To most people, they mean nothing. But for those who remember, these streets once shook under the scream of V12 engines, the roar of 200,000 fans, and the final, glorious victory of a racing legend.

This was the Adelaide Street Circuit—Formula 1’s most unlikely star.

📸 1995 Australian Grand Prix – Photo by Calistemon, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

A Mad Idea That Worked

In the early 1980s, Adelaide was just another quiet Australian city. Then Premier John Bannon and local promoters had a wild idea: what if Formula 1 came here?

Local project leader Dr. Mal Hemmerling was crucial in making the deal happen, he was the key figure in the organization.

Bernie Ecclestone, the CEO of F1, was not sure about this at first, but then he did everything he could to put it on the calendar by 1985.

Nobody expected it to matter. Yet somehow, it became unforgettable, and we had some of the best moments around this circuits.

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The Track That Brought Down Giants

Adelaide circuit quickly earned a reputation as more than just another stop, as it was the finale of the season for many years, and it became a stage for chaos and glory.

Some of the most dramatic moments in this circuit…

• 1986: Nigel Mansell’s tire explodes on the main straight, a dramatic failure that hands Alain Prost the world title by just two points.
• 1991: Torrential rain stops the race after only 14 laps, with a jubilant Ayrton Senna, who had already secured the championship in Japan, declared the winner.
• 1994: Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill collide in one of F1’s most controversial moments, sealing Schumacher’s first world title in a championship decider.

But the memory most fans hold dearest came in 1993.

Senna’s Last Dance

Senna’s last race at McLaren came with a win in this circuit, best way possible to leave his most loved team where he won his three championships in Formula 1.

Adelaide would be his farewell to the team.

📸 1995  Part of – Photo by Calistemon, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

The race is remembered as one of the most historic, while he crossed the line first, Prost was second, his biggest rival in F1 career, after this race Prost finally retired from F1.

The End of the Party

By 1996, Melbourne had stolen the race with a bigger budget and a more polished venue. Adelaide’s final Grand Prix in 1995 felt like a farewell wake, Damon Hill dominated, lapping the entire field in a masterful performance.

Today, the original F1 circuit is just a patchwork of public roads, though a shorter version continues to host the Supercars championship. Brewery Corner is now a roundabout. The pit lane is a car park. A few plaques remain, but most people passing by have no idea of its history.

And yet, if you stand there at dusk, when the shadows stretch across the tarmac, it is hard not to hear the echoes—the V12s, the crowd, the ghosts of legends who once turned Adelaide into the center of the racing world.

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