Image: Charles Leclerc
Australian Grand Prix trophy
Unlike most other Formula 1 races, the Australian Grand Prix has had the same trophy design for the winner each year, since it moved to Albert Park circuit in 1996.
Other venues have had trophy designs come and go as title sponsors have wanted to include some of their corporate branding on the prestigious awards.
But the Australian Grand Prix has remained true to its roots, with a trophy inspired by the legendary Australian Formula 1 driver Sir Jack Brabham.
Brabham is a legend in not just F1 but motorsport as a whole. As such, the award inspired by him has become one of the most prestigious trophies on the F1 calendar.
Design of the Australian GP trophy
The Australian F1 winner’s trophy is a dish design rather than the more traditional cup that you often see presented at other motorsport events.
On the silver dish is an embossed replica of the steering wheel from Brabam’s 1959 Cooper-Climax T51, the car in which he took his first of three Formula 1 World Championship titles.
Around the outside of the dish is a wooden rim, again resembling the one on the Cooper steering wheel.
The back of the trophy is made of carbon fibre. Even so, it weighs a not-insignificant 8kg. More than enough for a driver who’s just spent 2 hours wrestling their F1 car around Albert Park at over 300kph.
The 2nd and 3rd place trophies are just a plain silver dish, without the three wheel spokes or the wooden rim.
Sir Jack Brabham trophy - winning constructor
Sir Jack Brabham, the three-time Formula 1 World Champion, sadly passed away in 2014. So for 2015 the race organisers decided to rename the Australian Grand Prix trophy in honour of the legendary driver.
But contrary to popular belief, the trophy named in his honour is the constructor’s trophy, not the trophy for the winner, second or third place finishes.
The Sir Jack Brabham trophy is awarded to the winning constructor at the Australian Grand Prix. The winning driver is awarded a trophy inspired by the steering wheel of Brabham’s 1959 Cooper F1 car.
Manufacturer
The task of manufacturing the trophy lies with Flynn Silver, a company based in Victoria only an hour away from Melbourne where the GP is held.
Dan Flynn, the original designer of the trophy, took some inspiration from the trophy awarded to the Wimbledon tennis tournament’s female champion, the Venus Rosewater Dish.
It takes them over 120 hours to manufacture the trophy each year. Their policy is to only sub-contract parts of the build out to other manufacturers (such as a yacht company for the carbon fibre element) who are at the very top of their game, to ensure the highest quality.
Who presents the trophies?
Each year the trophies are presented to the podium finishers by a selection of dignitaries.
This usually includes executives from the title sponsors, Grand Prix organisers, members of local government or personnel from the national motorsport body.
At the 2023 Australian GP the trophies were presented by the following people:
- 1st place trophy: Steve Dimopoulus, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events
- 2nd place trophy: Paul Little Ao, Chairman of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation
- 3rd place trophy: Andrew Fraser, President of Motorsport Australia
- Constructor’s trophy: Sir Jackie Stewart
