2008 Calendar

2008 Calendar

Australian Grand Prix – March 16th, 2008

Albert Park Circuit

Information

Address: Australian Grand Prix Corporation, 220 Albert Road, Melbourne, Victoria 3125, Australia
Telephone: +61 3 9258 7100
Website: Albert Park Circuit
First Race: 1996
Circuit Length (km): 5.303
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History

Adelaide held the first Australian Grand Prix on the Parklands street circuit in 1985. It has remained on the calendar since, although in 1996 the venue moved to Melbourne and the popular Albert Park street circuit. Michael Schumacher has won the event four times, and McLaren lead with nine victories.

Malaysian Grand Prix – March 23rd, 2008

Sepang Circuit

Information

Address: Circuit Management Centre, Jalan Pekeliling, Kuala Lumpur, 64100 KLIA, Selangor, Malaysia
Telephone: +60 3 8526 2000
Website: Sepang International Racing Circuit
First Race: 1999
Circuit Length (km): 5.543
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History

Inaugurated in 1999, the Malaysian Grand Prix has been at Sepang all its life. The circuit is from the design house of Hermann Tilke, and features modern facilities and a very wide track. It is popular with the drivers and will host the race for many years to come. Ferrari have won the most events, leading with four victories.

Bahrain Grand Prix – April 6th, 2008

Sakhir Circuit

Information

Address: Sakhir Circuit, P.O. Box 26381, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain
Telephone: +973 406444
Website: Bahrain International Racing Circuit
First Race: 2004
Circuit Length (km): 5.417
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History

Bahrain is new to the championship, having been inaugurated in 2004. The circuit is another penned by Hermann Tilke and features wide run off areas. The sandy environment can cause problems for drivers and cars, particularly the engines. Bahrain is mostly Islamic, and thus Rosewater replaces Champagne on the podium.

Spanish Grand Prix – April 27th, 2008

Catalunya Circuit

Information

Address: Mas ‘La Moreneta’, Apartado de Correos 27, E-08160 Montmelo, Spain
Telephone: +34 93 571 9704
Website: Circuit de Catalunya
First Race: 1991
Circuit Length (km): 4.627
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History

Pedralbes held the first Spanish race in 1951, and Spain has featured on the calendar ever since with only a handful of years off. Jarama, Parc de Montjuic and Jerez have all held races, and the event moved to its current home in Barcelona in 1991. The circuit is often used as a testing venue because of its broad mix of different corners.

Turkish Grand Prix – May 11th, 2008

Istanbul Park Circuit

Information

Address: Karaaliler Place, Tepeoren Road, Akfirat County, Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey
Telephone: +90 216 304 19 67
Website: Istanbul Park Circuit
First Race: 2005
Circuit Length (km): 5.34
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History

Debuting in 2005, Istanbul Park is a modern track penned by Hermann Tilke and now owned by Bernie Ecclestone. The circuit is challenging and features many tough corners as well as being anti-clockwise (a trait only shared by Imola and Interlagos on the recent calendar). The quadruple apex corner bears 5g of load onto the drivers.

Monaco Grand Prix – May 25th, 2008

Monaco Circuit

Information

Address: Automobile Club de Monaco, 23 Boulevard Albert 1er, Monaco Cedex, MC 98012, Monte Carlo
Telephone: +377 931 52600
Website: Circuit de Monaco
First Race: 1950
Circuit Length (km): 3.37
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History

Monaco has been a part of Formula One for as long as the sport has been in existence. The circuit has changed very little, and the city provides a back drop to one of the most historical and fascinating races on the calendar. The street circuit is very challenging for drivers, and provides fans with a chance to get incredibly close to the cars.

Canadian Grand Prix – June 8th, 2008

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

Information

Address: Bassin Olympique, Ile de Notre-Dame, Montreal, Quebec h3Y 3G7, Canada
Telephone: +1 514 873 2855
Website: Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
First Race: 1978
Circuit Length (km): 4.361
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History

Starting out in 1967 at Mosport Park, the Canadian Grand Prix is another main stay for Formula One. Having been hosted at Mosport Park, Mont-Tremblant and now Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the race is popular with drivers. Circuit Gilles Villeneuve took over as host in 1978 and is built on a man-made island on the St. Lawrence River.

French Grand Prix – June 22nd, 2008

Magny Cours Circuit

Information

Address: Circuit de Nevers Magny Cours, Technopole, F-58470 Magny Cours, France
Telephone: +33 3 86 21 80 00
Website: Circuit de Nevers Magny Cours
First Race: 1991
Circuit Length (km): 4.408
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History

France has a long history of motorsport, and the French Grand Prix has been held for all but one year since the championship started in 1950. Various circuits have been used, the most popular being Reims, Charade, Dijon, Paul Ricard and current home Magny Cours. Michael Schumacher has won the race a record eight times.

British Grand Prix – July 6th, 2008

Silverstone Circuit

Information

Address: Silverstone International Circuit, Northamptonshire, NN12 8TN, United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 1327 857271
Website: Silverstone Circuit
First Race: 1950
Circuit Length (km): 5.141
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History

Another original race from 1950, the British Grand Prix is currently held at the old airfield, Silverstone. Previous circuits include Aintree and Brands Hatch, and Silverstone has hosted 40 of the 57 races. Jim Clark and Alain Prost share the highest number of wins on five, and Nigel Mansell has pleased local fans on four occasions.

German Grand Prix – July 20th, 2008

Hockenheimring Circuit

Information

Address: Hockenheimring GmbH, Motodrom, D-68766 Hockenheim, Germany
Telephone: +49 6205 950 05
Website: Hockenheimring
First Race: 1970
Circuit Length (km): 4.574
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History

First held in 1951, the German Grand Prix is steeped in history. Originally held on the long and dangerous Nürburgring Nordschleife track, the event moved to the Hockenheimring in 1970 for one year, and then full time in 1977. From 2007 onwards, the race will alternate between the Nürburg and Hockenheim rings.

Hungarian Grand Prix – August 3rd, 2008

Hungaroring Circuit

Information

Address: Hungaroring Circuit, Pf10, H-2146 Mogyorod, Budapest, Hungary
Telephone: +36 2 844 1861
Website: Hungaroring Circuit
First Race: 1986
Circuit Length (km): 4.384
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History

The Hungarian Grand Prix has been held at the Hungaroring since its inclusion in 1986. There has only been one wet race at the circuit (2006) and the twisty nature of the track makes it general unpopular among the drivers. Often described as a giant kart track, the Hungaroring has given Damon Hill, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button their maiden victories,

European Grand Prix – August 24th, 2008

Valencia Street Circuit

Information

Address:
Telephone:
Website:
First Race:
Circuit Length (km):
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History

The European Grand Prix has been held at various circuits over the years, originally intended to be on a rotation system. However, recently it has been at the Nurburgring circuit in Germany until the promoters decided to alternate the track with Hockenheim for the German event. The European race will now be held at Valencia in Spain on a road course.

Belgian Grand Prix – September 7th, 2008

Spa Francorchamps

Information

Address: Circuit de Spa Francorchamps, Route du Circuit 55, 4970 Francorchamps, Belgium
Telephone: +32 8727 5258
Website: Spa Francorchamps
First Race: 1983
Circuit Length (km): 6.968
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History

Belgium first hosted a Grand Prix in 1950, and the event has been shared by Nivelles-Baulers, Zolder and Spa Francorchamps. Spa is one of Formula One’s most challenging circuits, with many corners being fast and unrelenting. Eau Rouge and Blanchimont are both typical examples of Spa’s famous corners.

Italian Grand Prix – September 14th, 2008

Monza Circuit

Information

Address: Monza Racing Circuit, Parco di Monza, I-20052 Monza, Italy
Telephone: +39 39 24 821

Website: Monza Circuit
First Race: 1950
Circuit Length (km): 5.793
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History

Italy is similar to Britain and France in terms of Formula One history, and Monza has featured a race on the championship since 1950. Although the circuit has changed in places, the haunting banked curves still remain discarded behind the current layout. The Parabolica is the modern Monza’s most famous corner, being a flat-out right turn at the end of the lap.

Singapore Grand Prix – September 28th, 2008

Singapore Street Circuit

Information

Address:
Telephone:
Website:
First Race:
Circuit Length (km):
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History

New to 2008, the Singapore Grand Prix will be held on a specially created road course that will weave around the redeveloped port area of the city. It is intended to become Formula One’s first night race, with floodlights being erected around the track.

Japanese Grand Prix – October 12th, 2008

Fuji Circuit

Information

Address: Fuji International Speedway, Oyama Cho, Sunto Gun, Shizuoka, 410-1308, Japan
Telephone: +81 550 78 1234
Website: Fuji International Speedway
First Race: 1976
Circuit Length (km): 4.549
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History

Often placed at the end of the calendar, Japan has seen many a title won and lost. 1976 saw the first Grand Prix at Fuji and was repeated in 1977. Nine years of no event was broken when in 1986, Suzuka hosted the race. The event remained at the Honda-owned track until 2007 when Fuji won it back.

Chinese Grand Prix – October 19th, 2008

Shanghai Circuit

Information

Address: Shanghai International Racing Circuit, 1558 Dingxi Road, Shanghai, China
Telephone: +86 21 62520000
Website: Shanghai Circuit
First Race: 2004
Circuit Length (km): 5.451
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History

Shanghai is the most expensive circuit to have been made, designed by Hermann Tilke and costing US$240 million. Introduced to Formula One in 2004, Shanghai has seen Rubens Barrichello, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher win. It was the circuit that gave Schumacher his final victory before retiring.

Brazilian Grand Prix – November 2nd, 2008

Interlagos Circuit

Information

Address: Avenida Senador Teotonio Vilela 261, 010000-000 Interlagos, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Telephone: +55 11 566 68822
Website: Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace
First Race: 1973
Circuit Length (km): 4.309
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History

Since 1973, Brazil has hosted a round of the championship, and the event has been shared between Jacarepagua and its current home Interlagos. McLaren hold the most number of victories with eleven, while Alain Prost holds the most number of wins for a driver with six. Brazilian Felipe Massa won last year’s race.

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