Swedish racing driver Stefan Johansson, who drove in Formula 1 for both Ferrari and McLaren, among other teams, got the chance to be reunited with the Maranello car he competed in the 1985 Formula 1 season. Stefan Johansson got behind the wheel of the Ferrari 156/85 at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival, bringing back “great memories” of his time in the sport.
The Adelaide Motorsport Festival is an annual motorsport event which was first held in 2014 using a shortened [1.6 km (0.87 mi)] version of the former Australian Grand Prix (held in Adelaide from 1985 to 1995) and the Adelaide 500 race track within Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi, located in the south-eastern parklands of the South Australian capital of Adelaide.
“It’s always great to be here, and the fans are hugely enthusiastic,” Stefan Johansson said in an interview at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival – “It’s a great experience.”
Stefan Johansson cut laps in the Formula 1 session on the Saturday, but unfortunately persistent rain washed out all of the open-wheel running for the following day. Still, the former F1 driver wanted to express his appreciation for the event and and how the organisers put everything together this year.
“It’s great here. It’s my second time… The crowd is fantastic, very enthusiastic. It’s a great event – they’re doing a good job of it,” said the Swede.
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Stefan Johansson qualified the Ferrari 156/85 in P15 at the end of the qualifying session for the maiden Australian Grand Prix which took place in Adelaide, almost four decades ago. On a thrilling Sunday marked by attrition, the Swede was one of only eight finishers, coming home in fifth place after having to deal with reliability problems during the race.
“We had a lot of problems with the turbos at the end of the year,” recalled Stefan Johansson when asked about the 1985 Formula 1 season with the Maranello team – “[We] went slower and slower as the year went by, and had reliability issues with the engine.”
Stefan Johansson secured a podium finish in the Adelaide grand prix the next season, which was his final Grand Prix with Scuderia Ferrari. He went on to race for McLaren, Ligier and Onyx, but without scoring any more points in Australia.
However, the former Formula 1 driver confirmed that getting behind the wheel of a Ferrari car back on the Adelaide Parklands Circuit has been an amazing experience: “It brings back great memories,” admitted the 66-year-old – “It’s a bit weird because there’s no barriers anywhere so it’s very wide open. But the layout is still the same… returning to get around in these cars, it brings back a lot of good memories. I’m not pushing it too hard. Just enjoying the experience.” – Stefan Johansson concluded with a wry smile.
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