South Australia tried to snatch back the Formula One Grand Prix 27 years after it was hijacked by Victoria – only to find out plot was hatched just a few months too late
- Melbourne controversially took the Aussie F1 event off Adelaide back in 1996
- It has been a sore point ever since and SA fans have not forgiven or forgotten
- It can be revealed that South Australia launched an audacious bid to win it back
- Unfortunately for Adelaide, the bid came too late and Melbourne retained the F1
Australia’s Formula One Grand Prix has been a prickly subject for those living in South Australia since Melbourne pinched the marquee event in the 1990s.
But now it can be revealed that Adelaide Premier Peter Malinauskas launched an 11th-hour attempt to steal it back – only to be told he was too late.
The Australian GP infamously moved to Melbourne in 1996 when current Hawthorn Hawks president Jeff Kennett was Victorian Premier.
Britain’s Nigel Mansell slings his Williams Honda through the streets of Adelaide in the final race of 1986. He lost the championship late in the race in one of the most exciting finishes to a season ever
The long-held assertion from South Australians has been that Melbourne out-bid them to steal the signature motorsport event.
Kennett has since vehemently denied that was the case, saying the South Australian government of the day had failed to re-commit to re-signing with F1.
‘They lost it because neither of their political leaders at the time going into their election was prepared to commit to the event,’ Kennett told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2016.
‘So we never stole it, they didn’t want it. They created the opening.’
Premier of South Australia Peter Malinauskas worked hard to steal the F1 back, but his bid…
Source : dailymail
