Here at The Water Cooler, we are gearing up for the 2023 Formula 1® Rolex Australian Grand Prix, which is only two short days away!
But first, we needed to be brought up to speed on what is set to be one of the biggest race events in history.
We sat down with 10 News First sports presenter and Grand Prix commentator, Scott Mackinnon (aka Mack Attack) for all the insider info.
Are the rumours true? Is it really a faster track than ever before? Wheel see about that…
The 2023 Formula 1® Rolex Australian Grand Prix is set to be one of the biggest in history, with a faster track than ever before. What can viewers expect from our stellar on-air coverage?
The need for speed! We’ll keep you across all the big stories, drama and colour from pit lane to the paddock and beyond. Our team includes World Champion Damon Hill who won the very first Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park and F1 insiders, or encyclopedias as I like to call them, Tom Clarkson, Rosanna Tennant and Sam Power who are at every single event across the globe. They have forged terrific relationships with the drivers and team principles and always get the inside scoop. We also have the golden ticket to the Paddock where all the heavy hitters hang out, so you will get access money can’t buy. It will be fun, informative and fast, with 4 DRS zones the track record should be obliterated.
What category, outside of F1, are you most geared up for and why? (see what we did there?)
Does the name Mick Doohan ring a bell? Yep, the five-time 500cc Motorcycle World Champion. Well, his son Jack Doohan is racing in F2, the feeder category to Formula 1. It’s the first time the F2’s have raced in Australia and Jack is coming off a second place finish in the feature race in Saudi Arabia. Former F2 Champions include fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri, Charles LeClerc and George Russell. He’s Doohan good thing’s Jack.
What sets the Grand Prix apart from other sporting events?
It’s the power and the prestige. This sport represents the cutting edge of performance, from the drivers to the engineers. Each bespoke car is worth around $20 million, and the drivers are charged with extracting every last ounce of speed from them. It’s like being on a knifes edge and one mistake can land you in the wall. The AGP is like no other with these rockstars of racing making their way down the Melbourne walk to a hero’s welcome every morning. It’s the only race where you can get right up close to your sporting heroes. The speed and the noise are next level too. It’s a full sensory experience.
Damon Hill, the 1996 Formula 1 World Champion, will be joining the commentary team this year. What does that mean to you?
What an honour to have this legend in the team! This hall of famer went toe to toe with Michael Schumacher and won. He no doubt has a love hate relationship with the Australian Grand Prix. He won the first AGP at Albert Park in 96 and the last in Adelaide, but in 1994 was on the receiving end of a massively controversial shunt with Schumacher which decided the World Title by a single point. Google it, so crazy. He knows the drivers, knows what it takes to win and is a ripping bloke too.
You’ve been with the Network for over 15 years. What has been your ultimate sporting highlight in that time? (We’ll allow Top 3 if that’s like asking who your favourite child is)
I think I’ll need a top 3 here and will do a countdown from 3 to 1. Save the best for last!
- Covering the Sochi Winter Olympics. I was based on the mountain for all the extreme stuff like Halfpipe, slopestyle and aerials. It was pretty sweet high fiving US legend Shaun White at the bottom of the pipe and watching Lydia Lassila put it all on the line for Bronze.
- Hosting the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan with Matt Burke and Gordon Bray. Rugby, sake and sushi, do I need to say more. It was a tough one for the Aussies who went down to England and Eddie Jones in the quarters but being pitch side for the decider between Champions South Africa and England was as big as some of their props. Huge units and a huge occasion.
Burkey was like a celebrity over there (hey he won the title in 1999) and the red carpet was rolled out. The culture, food, people and a trip to the Sapporo Beer Museum made this a winner.
- The Grey Wiggle. Last year no one gave the Socceroos a chance to progress to the World Cup and it all came down to a penalty shootout against Peru in Qatar. I was pitch side when Graham Arnold made the biggest call in his coaching career, by calling in Andrew Redmayne for the shootout. Just writing this now brings back the butterflies. You could cut the tension with a knife, the Aussies were outnumbered in the crowd 15,000 to about 100, Redmayne threw away his rivals notes that were stuck to a water bottle, then made the save that meant the world to Australia. I usually try to keep my cool in these situations, but the emotion just poured out. There was plenty of yelling and shouting with the Socceroos squad and staff and I ended up losing my voice. The post-match interviews were a mix of tears and pure joy as the Aussies silenced the doubters.
