I’m currently in the process of updating a few things and, shock horror, writing – so stay tuned!

There are many races on the F1 calendar which we look forward to, but in recent years, with only the odd exception, no race is more eagerly awaited than the Australian Grand Prix. After the long winter months, starved of adrenaline and many hanging onto the finest threads of hope, the five red lights at Albert Park could not extinguish fast enough. While its position on the calendar and indeed its location may have changed, the Australian Grand Prix has rewarded our passion and drive with some great duals, incidents and races. With just over a month before she plays host to the 2012 season opener, what better time to indulge in some of these great moments?

It was not until 1985 that the Australian Grand Prix featured on the Formula One calendar, where it was held at Adelaide and remained so for 11 years. However, Australia was no stranger to motorsport. The first 100 Miles Road Race dates back to 1928. Ironically, while we may occasionally whimper back to the ‘good old days’ whenever race starts are delayed or, worse still, started under the safety car, this first encounter had to be rescheduled due to rain. Mother Nature the only ‘Champion of the Day’ and still enjoys reigning supreme; now there’s a dedicated motorsport enthusiast.

The race was a success and a fitting end to the 1985 season. It would to be another pole for Ayrton Senna in the Lotus-Renault, but come race day it was the Williams FW10 that would notch up the first win at the temporary circuit with only 9 cars finishing and only 8 with all four wheels on their wagon. Philippe Streiff damaged the front of his Ligier tripping over his own team mate, yet had enough of a gap over 4th place Capelli to maintain his podium position. The race was also to be the last career win of 5 for world champion Keke Rosberg. This year his son will arrive at the Australian Grand Prix still pursuing his first win despite his race tally fast approaching that of his fathers.

The circuit would not disappoint the following year, and more than earnt its place as the last event on the calendar with a spectacular championship battle between Piquet, Mansell and Prost. This, thankfully one of the few remaining races where good quality footage remains accessible. A time where issues with fuel were not synonymous with coded orders; with Streiff once again on the receiving end. This time finishing in the points despite running out of fuel. Unfortunately the following year the Frenchman’s luck was up, spinning out early on.

After a couple of dry races in 1987 and 1988, rain was certainly a theme the following year, with many discussions arising amongst the drivers whether they should race at all after a very difficult warm up and conditions only getting worse. The race, however, was to give us some truly memorable moments, including Senna famously running into the back of Brundle while attempting to lap both him and Piquet. Unsurprisingly only eight cars finished the race with Belgian Thierry Boutsen winning in his Williams-Renault after qualifying in fifth. Although with such dangerous conditions finishing at all was an achievement in itself.

Adelaide was to deliver more torrential rain in 1991, and despite improved drainage, the race resulted in what is still the shortest Formula One race to date. The race was eventually abandoned on lap 17, but there were some attempts by officials to restart the race. However driver objections were strong and most evidentially valid, the logic in their protests winning out. Even when the racing had finished, there were still problems and controversy to be dealt with which meant that the official results counted back to the end of lap 14 rather than lap 16.

Yet mention controversy to many Formula One fans and most will recall a defining moment in two, now world champions, careers. Adelaide 1994 and a split second decision by Michael Schumacher to turn in despite already sustaining damage against a wall, while Damon Hill attempted to overtake him. Schumacher retired instantly, but many watched in agony as Hill limped into the pits desperate to continue in what had been an incredibly emotional year for the Williams team. Neither scored any points and so this meant Schumacher became the first German world champion. The German’s later actions in 1997 during the European GP as well as his faux pas during qualifying in Monaco 2006 have kept this controversy raw.

The following year would be much kinder to Hill, who secured pole and went on to win the 1995 Adelaide GP in a dominant manner, although losing the lead with a poor start, he finished two laps ahead of 2nd place Olivier Panis. The French driver starting from 12th place on the grid and finished the race nursing an oil leak. He was far from the only driver to suffer with issues during the weekend, David Coulthard suffered from race ending embarrassment after misjudging the pits. Thankfully two of his fellow Brits; Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, have now joined him in notching up unforgettable pit lane blunders.

With a change of circuit in 1996, came a change of season. The Australian Grand Prix would no longer conclude the year’s battles at Adelaide, but begin them in the setting of Albert Park. The Melbourne circuit had previously held races in the 1950s, albeit in the opposite direction, but has seemingly remained in Adelaide’s shadows with a comparative lack of overtaking.

Nevertheless, since 1996, Albert Park has brought us some unforgettable moments, be it the reality of the uplifting story that was Brawn in 2009, less than desirable start line antics and an Australian underdog in 2002 to name but a few. For all the criticisms, Albert Park deserves to feature strongly here too. So keep an eye out for the Albert Park edition next week.

The real problem is not necessarily with current circuits, but how difficult it is to come by any meaningful footage of many of these earlier races. Forcing them to be nothing more than statistics in the history books. As the years roll on by it becomes more and more absurd that a sport renown for being the pinnacle of motorsport keeps leaving its fans behind in such a manner.

I’d like to thank everyone who has helped contribute their favourite moments and video clips so far. Where the sport fails, passionate fans prevail. When both fail, fortunately there is bacon.