Australian Grand Prix: track and statistics

Melbourne is Australia’s second largest city and the administrative center of the state of Victoria. The city highway has a temporary status and is being constructed along the paths of Albert Park, located in the business center on the banks of an artificial lake.

Two years ago the track was seriously improved: it became about five seconds faster and new stands were built. Two of them are named after world champions: Jim Clark (between turns 8 and 9) and Niki Lauda (in turn 12).

The Australian Grand Prix has been held since 1985 and will be held in Albert Park for the 38th and 27th times this season. For eleven years the stage was held in Adelaide and concluded the season, and in 1996 the stage moved to Melbourne. In June 2022, the organizers extended the contract for the Grand Prix until 2035.

Last year, the Australian Grand Prix set a new attendance record at the Albert Park circuit: 444,631 people during the weekend.

Track features

The circuit is quite fast and not too demanding in terms of aerodynamics. Due to dust and dirt, common on city circuits, the grip on the asphalt changes significantly over the course of the weekend, making it difficult to work with the settings. The new asphalt laid last year turned out not to be so smooth; there were still many imperfections.

The circuit is demanding for the engines; in terms of engine load it is second only to Monza: 66% of the lap is completed by the racers with the accelerator pedal fully depressed. Because there is often accelerating out of slow corners, good controllability and engine stability over a wide speed range are important.

The aerodynamics are tuned for a medium level of downforce – the Melbourne track settings are reminiscent of Sepang or Silverstone; As the weekend progresses, engineers will have to look for the traditional compromise between downforce and speed.

To effectively complete a lap at Albert Park you need the most responsive, controlled car; When adjusting the suspension, it is important to find the optimal combination of stiffness and stability under braking. The circuit places high demands on braking efficiency and cooling.

The best place to overtake is at the end of the straight, where the drivers accelerate to 300 km/h and can take the braking position in Jones, consolidating their success exiting the second corner. In 2022, a fourth DRS zone with two points for measuring the interval between cars appeared – after Friday it was abandoned, but now it will be used.

One of the most interesting corners is the 12th, Waite – almost 250 km/h, attack on the curb and then a high-speed section – the slightest inaccuracy leads to major loss of time.

Melbourne has one of the shortest pit lanes on the calendar: only 281 meters, the drivers pass it in 13 seconds.

Ayo KomatsuHaas F1 team boss: “I’m looking forward to Melbourne, the Australian circuit has its own characteristics. In terms of downforce it is similar to Bahrain, but otherwise completely different.

When setting up the car we will again focus on race pace. Tire degradation will not be as low as in Jeddah, and not as high as in Bahrain, but somewhere in the middle.

This year for the first time we will have the softest C5 tires, which we have struggled to get working in the past. This year we have not encountered any strong bubbles yet, we will see how this weekend goes.”

Weekend schedule

For the first time in history, support races in Australia will include Formula 3 and Formula 2 in addition to traditional Supercars. You can follow the progress of all Formula 1 sessions on our live broadcast page.

Tire kits issued to teams for the weekend

Pirelli tire makers will bring the softest compounds to Melbourne: C3, C4 and C5 in Hard, Medium and Soft roles. The C5 compound will be used for the first time this year.

One set of the softest tires must be saved for the final qualifying – then those who raced in the final must return this set to Pirelli.

One set of medium and hard tires must be kept for the race. Unless declared wet, drivers are required to use at least one of these sets.

Performance of current riders in Australia

Oscar Piastri, McLaren driver: “I grew up 10-15 minutes from Albert Park. The atmosphere during the Grand Prix is ​​electric. I know there will be many fans in the stands to watch the Australian racer perform.”