The Australian Grand Prix has been a staple on the calendar since 1928, with Melbourne hosting since 1996 at the Albert Park Circuit. Before this, the race was held in Adelaide. In previous seasons, Australia was traditionally the first race on the calendar, meaning that it has seen the start of many great careers, and simultaneously the beginning of the end for others. Sir Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, and Kimi Raikkonen are among those who debuted at this Grand Prix.
The track itself is rather technical. At 5.3 kilometres, the track fuses existing roads with a car park to create a truly dynamic circuit. Despite the fact that most of the circuit is constructed approximately six weeks ahead of the race and takes nearly 300,000 hours to construct, some parts, such as the pit and paddock buildings, are permanent. It utilises a combination of both medium and high-speed corners. The organisers prioritise overtaking, thus changed the layout before the 2021 season, reducing the number of corners to 14 and altering many of those that remain.
Being the home race of McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, you can expect to see more of them in media channels as they will be doing more media than they typically would for a grand prix weekend. Honourary Aussie, Valtteri Bottas, will most likely also get more attention this weekend. Will this be the first year an Australian driver stands on the podium at Albert Park?
Supporting the F1 race, the Formula 2 and Formula 3 championships are also racing in Melbourne, meaning that there is even more racing action for fans to watch.
For the area, the grand prix is a huge event. It injects a surge of tourism into the region, boosting the local economy each year. However, it costs taxpayers in Victoria, the territory where Melbourne is located, about 50 million Australian dollars – a controversial point of the race. Albert Park itself is a popular destination throughout the year, with activities including walking trails and sports facilities. The grand prix only heightens this. Usually around 400,000 fans attend the race weekend in total, with more than 100,000 on race day alone.
Contacted until 2035 with extensions available, this is a race to get excited about as we will see it on the calendar for the foreseeable future.
Written by Alexandra.
Featured Image Credit: RaceFans.net
The Fastest Sector 