
The long-awaited 2022 comeback that presents a good omen for F1
The first Australian Grand Prix since 2019 was a watershed moment in Formula 1 history. It was here, on 13 March 2020, that F1 vanished into uncertain limbo. Mark Gallagher visited the 2022 edition to witness how Melbourne’s triumphant return parallels F1’s own rebound…
Formula 1 returned to Australia with a weekend festival of sport which, in a world laid low by war and pandemic, was good for the soul. It was three years since Hamilton, Verstappen et al raced around the city’s Albert Park, two years since that ill-fated Friday 13th in 2020 when F1, the FIA and the Australian Grand Prix Corporation cancelled that year’s event to the disbelief of spectators queuing at the gates.
“I was there and couldn’t believe it,” said Craig, a diehard F1 fan who told me of his annual pilgrimage from Queensland’s Gold Coast. “I won’t even tell you what it cost me and I ended up spending the weekend with some disappointed fans drinking our sorrows away.”
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