Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park: 70 Years Young

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the Inaugural Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, held on November 21, 1953 – and to celebrate the occasion AUTO ACTION’s historian Mark Bisset brought to life the events of that day in superb detail for our Australian GP preview in issue #1857…

Main Image: 1953 AGP grid. Front row start left to right Lex Davison HWM Jag, Stan Jones Maybach 1, Dough Whiteford Talbot-Lago T26C, car 11 on row 2 is Ted Gray Alta Ford V8. Image: DACRE STUBBS COLLECTION-MARTIN STUBBS.

Winners are Grinners, Doug Whitehead has won his third and last AGP and is well pleased. Image: THE AGE NEWSPAPER ARCHIVES

When St Kilda’s ‘Dicer Doug’ Whiteford won the 1953 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park – the first race around the lake was 70 years ago this November 21 – in his slinky French Talbot Lago T26C F1 machine, he won by a phenomenal six laps!

Imagine Max Verstappen beating Charles Leclerc by that margin today?

Things have changed so much in seven decades, technology hadn’t put a man in space then, let alone on the moon.

The circuit map for the 1953 Albert Park Grand Prix

It took the Light Car Club of Victoria from 1934 to 1952 to get government support to race in the park. That ’53 AGP was a one-dayer too.

Practice, qualifying, the 50-mile, 16-lap Albert Park Trophy support race and 200-mile, 64-lap AGP were held on one day, between 8.30am and 5.30 pm to be precise.

By contrast it took the Victorian Government’s operatives months, even years to swipe the AGP from their Liberal colleagues in South Australia in 1995. This year the first set-up trucks for the four-day carnival rolled into Aughtie Drive at 7.05am on January 1.

A staggering 50,000 to 70,000 people rocked up on that hot, muggy 1953 day without the vast array of entertainment options we have now; a pie and chips and Coke was pretty exotic fare back then, don’t even think of an oatmilk capuccino with your easy-over crepe.

The Jones Maybach in for the pitstop which changed the race, albeit the car retired in any event. Passing is the Jag XK120 of Frank Lobb. Image: DACRE STUBBS COLLECTION-MARTIN STUBBS.

On track there was enough variety among the 40-car Formula Libre grid to give the F1 hierachy a myocardial infarction. Today’s crushing, prescriptive F1 rules create boring sameness of specifications to go with undeniable speed.

It wasn’t all great back then mind you, half the grid comprised pre-war cars; Bugatti, Talbot Darracq, Maserati and MGs which should have been consigned to an historic race. The balance was made up of contemporary sports cars such as Austin Healey 100, Allard J2 and Jaguar XK120s, Ford V8 powered Australian Specials, new-wave mid-engined Coopers – nah, they won’t catch-on – and genuine front-runners; Whiteford’s Lago, Lex Davison’s – father of racers Jon, Richard and Chris and grandfather of Alex,Will and James –  ex-Stirling Moss Jaguar powered English HWM.

Stan Jones – father of 1980 World F1 Champ Alan – raced the home-grown Charlie Dean/Repco Research developed six-cylinder Maybach, while Sydney youngster Jack Brabham took his AGP bow at the wheel of a new Cooper T23 Bristol.

Curley Brydon, in the 2nd placed MG TC Supercharged Special, leads the 16th placed John Nind in an MG TB Special
Image: KEN WHEELER VIA RICHARD TOWNLEY COLLECTION

Back then we needed the oldsters to make up the numbers, we don’t have that problem today, the quality of grids is much better.

We have a carnival of support events now, in ’53 the solo support Albert Park Trophy was won by Davison’s second-string Alfa Romeo P3, from Jones’ Cooper 1100 then another Melbourne car-dealer coming-man, Reg Hunt’s Allard J2 V8.

The AGP started – more or less – at the scheduled 2.30pm start time, there is no more or less factor today given global TV commitments. Another differentiator was that when the Australian flag dropped not all the crews had departed the grid, fortunately all made it to the sidelines without casualty.

Jack Brabham and Lex Davison (four times AGP winner in 1954/57/58/60, inaugural Gold Star victor in 1957) ran bearings in their Bristol and Jaguar engines in the morning. Jack didn’t take the start, Lex did, and led for part of the first lap before being pushed aside by good-mate Jones, then retiring. Retirements came thick and fast, 10 cars were hors d’ combat before lap 15, with Jones (1954 NZ GP, 1958 Gold Star and 1959 AGP winner) in a strong lead from Whiteford (three times AGP winner in 1950/52/53) at half distance. The Jones Boy was win-or-bust at that career stage, and pitted on lap 40 for fuel and a new water-pump drive belt, the Maybach-six was cooking.

Where is it? Whiteford sneaks a peek at what he already knows- his pit is close and he has 5 laps in hand, but still a heart in the mouth moment. Image: S Wills

Whiteford was quickly past and into a lead he never lost. Melbourne’s weather played its part, a downpour enlivened proceedings and caused further carnage and retirements. Whiteford caused a late-race sensation when he came into the pits on a rim with two laps to run, such was his lead this wasn’t a problem and he won from the MGs of Curley Brydon and Andy Brown.

While the argument rages on between ‘aficionado’s’ that the first AGP was held at Goulburn in 1927, and not Phillip Island in March 1928, there is no argument that the first AGP held at Albert Park was in ’53, and the first of the park’s ‘modern’ F1 era was held in 1996.

So, ‘Happy 70th Birthday’ Albert Park, long may you reign supreme as one of the great F1 venues; a unique blend of history, mystique, beauty and challenge.

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