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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJohn Smith is soaked in champagne by Roberto Moreno during the podium celebrations of the 1983 Australian Grand Prix. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJohn Smith is soaked in champagne by Roberto Moreno during the podium celebrations of the 1983 Australian Grand Prix. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n
The man who still holds that piece of history, John Smith, admits he finds it \u201cintriguing\u201d that his name continues to resurface every March, with his second place at Calder Park in 1983 remaining the most recent Australian podium at the Australian Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find it intriguing to come up and figure out that I\u2019m the last one that did it 43 years ago,\u201d Smith told Speedcafe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of Grands Prix. There\u2019s been 42 Grands Prix since then and it\u2019s weird to think that I\u2019m the only one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since Smith\u2019s podium, the best result by an Australian at the Australian Grand Prix has been fourth place \u2014 achieved by Alfredo Costanzo in 1984, the final edition before championship status \u2014 and later by Mark Webber in 2012, along with Daniel Ricciardo in 2016 and 2018.<\/p>\n
Ricciardo did finish second on the road in 2014, only to be disqualified hours later for breaching fuel regulations.<\/p>\n
In 2025, Oscar Piastri appeared set to finally celebrate on the podium in front of his home crowd before a late spin dropped him from second to ninth, extending a drought that continues to follow 76-year-old Sydneysider Smith whenever the Australian Grand Prix returns.<\/p>\n
The 1983 race at Calder Park was the 48th running of the event and the fourth held at the venue.<\/p>\n
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John Smith during the 1983 Australian Grand Prix. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n
It also served as the sixth and final round of the Australian Drivers\u2019 Championship, contested under Formula Pacific regulations in the era before the event joined the Formula 1 World Championship in 1985.<\/p>\n
That \u201cpro-am\u201d period allowed local privateers to go wheel-to-wheel with established F1 stars in near-identical Ralt RT4 machinery.<\/p>\n
But while the cars were similar, the backing often was not, with Smith firmly in the privateer camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of us, the Aussie guys, we were all self-funded,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had sponsorship from Overseas Containers Limited and Australia\/Japan Container Line. So I had money to do that year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe weren\u2019t rolling in money, that\u2019s for sure. We were strictly an amateur bunch of guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith said his crew was made up of mates juggling day jobs and long nights in the workshop.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d be there at the workshop every night from six till 11, four or five nights a week,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
By contrast, the opposition featured Brazilian Roberto Moreno, French veteran Jacques Laffite, Australia\u2019s 1980 F1 world champion Alan Jones and a host of well-supported operations.<\/p>\n
At the 1983 race, Moreno ultimately won his second Australian Grand Prix in three years, with Smith splitting him and Laffite on the podium.<\/p>\n
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Cars on the start grid at the 1983 Australian Grand Prix, with Smith pictured in the middle of Roberto Moreno and Alfredo Costanzo. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n
Smith qualified third, lining up behind Moreno and Costanzo, with the Australian vaulting into the lead at the start.<\/p>\n
When Costanzo\u2019s Tiga suffered gearbox failure early in the 100-lap race, the contest became a war of attrition at the front.<\/p>\n
Moreno controlled proceedings, but behind him Smith came under relentless pressure from Jones before the local hero spun in traffic.<\/p>\n
That left Laffite looming in Smith\u2019s mirrors for the closing stages.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the race, Moreno inherited the lead, and then I was running second. Then I got attacked by Alan Jones. He was really determined and driving really hard,\u201d Smith recalled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must have gone for probably 30 laps, maybe more, maybe 40 laps, and he was at me the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Jones\u2019 misfortune, Laffite became the next threat.<\/p>\n
\u201cNext thing, I had my mirrors full of Jacques Laffite. And we went on it then to the end of the race,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just deliberately holding him up, especially, I think it was called the Gloweve Corner coming onto the straight.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a place where you can\u2019t really pass on line. You have to go off line. And I made sure that if he was going to do that, he\u2019d be out wide, and then I could drive away.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I\u2019d slow the speed down, and then when he\u2019s sort of trying to get by, he gets baulked by me, then I\u2019d get on the gas and drive out.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I could always jump out about four or five lengths in front of him and hold him off down the straight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith said the battle continued for more than 30 laps before Laffite mounted one final attack on the last lap.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the end he started to work me out pretty well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the last lap we came onto the straight, and he\u2019s jumped alongside and actually got right alongside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember seeing his car was probably, the nose of the car was back to the mirrors behind me. That was it. Just right alongside.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s where I beat him to the line to get second place.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Smith on the podium after the race. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n
Despite the achievement being one of the biggest of his career, Smith admitted he left Calder slightly disappointed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell I was a bit disappointed I didn\u2019t win!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOddly enough, Graham Watson, who owned the Moreno car, told me they had a press day on the following Monday out there. And Moreno was there and everything, and he took the car for a few laps.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did about 12 laps around the place and the bloody rear shock absorber fell off. And I thought to myself, well, there you go. That\u2019s something.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll I needed was another 12 laps and I would have won the damn race!\u201d<\/p>\n
Two years after Smith\u2019s success, the Australian Grand Prix joined the Formula 1 World Championship, effectively shutting out domestic hopefuls without the budget to chase European seats.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell what it did, it eliminated every Aussie that wanted to be in it,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs you know, what\u2019s involved in racing Formula 1 is just more than having great talent. You need that, but there\u2019s a whole lot of money that gets thrown at you to do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s a closed shop mixed up with a world championship. Whereas back in our day, we had exactly the same equipment as the big kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
After funding realities closed the door on an F1 tilt, Smith transitioned full-time to touring cars from 1985 and enjoyed a long domestic career before retiring in the mid-1990s.<\/p>\n
A motorcycle accident in 2012 left him paraplegic, but his connection to the sport has never faded.<\/p>\n
Even now, Smith admits he is surprised no Australian has matched that result since \u2014 even in the world championship era in Adelaide and Melbourne.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was told that, which is probably 10 years ago or something now, I found it quite intriguing that it\u2019s not happened between me and now,\u201d he admitted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you think about it, I thought that Dan Ricciardo, I think he got second place or something, and then got rubbed out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same thing with Webber. I thought he had a chance to do something.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd last year, Piastri was looking good for five minutes and then he threw it away.\u201d<\/p>\n
This weekend, Smith said he\u2019ll be glued to the TV watching to see if Piastri can finally break Australia\u2019s 43-year drought for a home podium \u2014 although he admits with a grin that part of him wouldn\u2019t mind another year at the top of the record books.<\/p>\n
\u201cSecretly, of course he could, but it wouldn\u2019t be bad if I got one more year out of my glory!\u201d Smith joked.<\/p>\n
2026 F1 Australian Grand Prix \u2013 Schedule, how to watch, TV times & more<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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