Qantas is to be the title sponsor of the Australian Grand Prix once again. The Australian national airline was the sponsor of the race between 1997 and 2001 and prior to that was heavily involved in the race when it was in Adelaide.
“Qantas has sponsored the Grand Prix since its arrival in Australia in 1985 and we are pleased to reaffirm our support for this global sporting event, reaching Formula One fans worldwide,” Qantas Chief Executive, Alan Joyce said.
The announcement is good news for the Victorian government as it will help to limit losses caused by the event, which traditionally attract negative comment from those opposed to the Albert Park extravaganza.
“We greatly value the involvement of all our commercial sponsors – their support reduces the cost of this event to the Victorian Government,” said Tourism and Major Events Minister Tim Holding. “Melbourne is the major events capital of the world and will next month come alive when hundreds of thousands of Melburnians and visitors from interstate and overseas flock to Albert Park for the Grand Prix.”
There should be more interest than usual in Melbourne in 2010 as Mark Webber last year won his first F1 victory. There are also going to be major concerts associated with the event, with Powderfinger playing on Saturday night and Simple Minds on Sunday night. Each concert is included in the price of admission for all Saturday and Sunday ticket holders.
Qantas has weathered the recent economic crisis rather more successfully than other airlines, despite a dive in profits. It was nonetheless one of the few international airlines to report a profit. The company has now switched over its fleet from the old Boeing 747s to the new Airbus A380s. The company reported recently that in 2009 it carried 38m passengers and 575,000 tons of freight.
Make no mistake, I live here in Adelaide, South Australia. My observation is that the average Victorian has a more politically correct appreciation of the Grand Prix. Not just a genuine love and enjoyment for the occasion. There is massive pressure in Victoria over the bottom line of the AGP because of the losses it incurs. Alas, Australia seems doomed to become another country that did a good job, but used to have a GP. QANTAS on board, or not…..
At least we know that QF will make it on the grid in MEL. Great news for the local show…I’m looking forward to having an A380 doing a low pass over pit straight. That’ll be a sight to see…
Now… if Quantas could somehow get it moved back to Adelaide…
Mark, as an expat Adelaide boy myself, I know what you mean.
Adelaide was really a perfect location for the race, with a population that almost universally supported it. But that was in the 80s and 90s. The Adelaide city centre has changed a lot since then, it’s much, much more residential than it’s ever been and I bet if the race returned you would get a fairly cool reception from the local residents.
It’s a shame. I fell in love with F1 because of the Adelaide race, I just hope whether it’s Melbourne or wherever, Australia stays on the calendar.
With CVC needing to service an ever increasing mountain of interest I can’t see the event remaining around, Qantas or no.
This is simply great news for us Australian F1 fans. The Qantas brand is a class act and it’s great to have them sponsoring another class act – the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park. Since the GP went to Melbourne the event has only risen in stature. Sadly I wont be there though this year (the first one I’ve missed in 5 years), as I’m taking a cruise back to blighty… So I guess I’ll see you in Monaco Joe. i reckon we are about to have a cracking season, with a fascinating fight to the finish between Vettel, Alonso and Hamilton – and maybe even Schumacher too…
This made the news …but as i understand its only for 1 year…there is an election here in Victoria later this year.. re fly pass they always do it a its a great spectical…
I’ve been lucky enough to fly on the Qantas A380 a couple of times now. Simply fantastic. The service even came with a smile so the old snotty Qantas flight attendants must have gotten the boot.
I think the sponsorship deal makes perfect sense. brands like Qantas or Fosters fit very well with people’s already positive perceptions of Australia. While ING was also great for the GP I’m not sure people really associated the brand with the country/race.
I have to say I disagree with Mark slightly. There’s no doubting that Adelaide was a passionate venue for the Grand Prix but I also think Melbourne has sent a precedent for many other street races around the world and I think it’ll be around for a long time to come
Ncsfoo, Melbourne is not a street circuit, it uses roads that are around Albert Park so is a road circuit not a street circuit in the sense that Adelaide was or Monaco is. Sorry Melbourne I have been to your Grand Prix twice but the venue and circuit leave me cold when compared to Adelaide. There is nothing like the atmosphere that Adelaide had and is continually subject to harassment in the media about its cost even though the queues at the airport the following days suggested that the event succeeded in bringing a lot of money into Victoria.
I think what Adelaide had, which Melbourne doesn’t have, is that in Adelaide the event took over the whole city centre, and transformed the atmosphere of the city, including street closures of main roads. The Melbourne GP doesn’t have that effect.
I remember sitting at uni listening to the cars, and there was no doubt when the F1 guys were out on track. It affected every day life in Adelaide, and while there were those who objected, in general most people really enjoyed the buzz it created.
I was talking with a friend who was an F1 mechanic, and who stayed on a bit after one of the races. He was amazed at how much the city had changed by the next week.
This is not a criticism of the Melbourne GP, but I think for Melbourne the GP is just another big well-run sporting event (of which they have several). For Adelaide it was a lot more than that.