MOTORSPORT: Albert Park upgrade promises more passing

More passing is being promised when the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix returns to Albert Park in late November.

The first track changes since Australia’s F1 race moved from Adelaide to Melbourne in 1996 are intended to make the circuit quicker, smoother, safer and with more places to pass.

The multi-million-dollar makeover is already well underway, with earth-moving equipment at Albert Park to dig out the edges of the track for the widening work.

“Making race days more exciting for everyone, that’s what we all want. Better races, more battles … the changes are going to push us towards that,” says hometown hero Daniel Ricciardo.

The updates at Albert Park have been in the works for more than two years, with retired Supercars champion Mark Skaife heavily involved but with input from engineers, organisers and drivers in Australia and from the F1 world.

Seven of the circuit’s corners are being modified, mostly widened to increase cornering speeds, with two removed completely as the sweep along Lakeside Drive becomes much straighter and faster with the likelihood of a new DRS overtaking zone.

“Come November, the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix will be back and better than ever,” says AGP CEO, Andrew Westacott.

Apart from the widening work and the removal of bumps through a total resurfacing of the track, the camber of Turns 1, 13 and 15 will be changed to allow for multiple lines through the bends.

“Widening some of the apexes, creating more of a straight in some places for an opportunity for more slipstreaming … that was the priority, and I’m very confident that it’s going to be good,” says Ricciardo.

“With these [2021] cars the changes should help a lot but from 2022, if next year promises everything it does with being able to follow the car in front and the racing to be enhanced, then coming to a circuit like Albert Park with these changes should make a pretty amazing spectacle.”