G’day, mate! Who’s ready for round three?
Formula One returns to Australia this weekend, descending on Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne once again for the first home race of the year for two drivers—McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and RB’s Daniel Ricciardo—and F1’s honorary Aussie, Stake’s Valtteri Bottas.
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The layout of this track is true to its name—a trip around a park. Originally a mix of swamps and lagoons, Albert Park received its name in 1864 to honor Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s consort. Throughout its history, it has been used as a military camp, garbage dump, and recreational area. But it became the home of the glitzy sport of F1 in 1996 when the series moved from Adelaide to Melbourne.
F1 has navigated the sand with Bahrain and zoomed through the long and fast street circuit in Saudi Arabia, and now it’s headed to Australia’s DRS goldmine. Before it’s time for David Croft’s iconic “It’s lights out and away we go,” here’s what you need to know about Melbourne’s circuit.
Key Specs
Australia’s racing history
Even though Formula One didn’t arrive until 1996, Albert Park’s racing scene dates back to the 1950s. Formula Libre competed on what was then known as the Albert Park Street Circuit, and Stirling Moss—who would eventually be known as “the greatest driver never to win the World Championship”—won the 1956 event.
The Australian Grand Prix joined the F1 calendar in 1985, competing in Adelaide. The metropolis is located in South Australia, near Kangaroo Island. The layout was a street circuit with no level changes and a few 90-degree turns, similar to California’s Long Beach circuit. But that doesn’t mean the race wasn’t a thrill, particularly as it held the last spot on the calendar. A few driver’s championships were decided in Adelaide, including the first of Michael Schumacher’s seven titles. Plus, rain impacted multiple Australian GPs in Adelaide, and the 1991 edition was one of the shortest F1 races in history, lasting just a touch over 24 minutes before getting washed out.
Adelaide ultimately lost the race to Melbourne. The grand prix moved not only locations but also positions on the calendar from the end of the calendar to the season opener until the COVID-19 pandemic struck, officially losing the opening spot in 2022. After more than 30 years, racing returned to Albert Park in Melbourne.
A stroll around the park
Located just a few miles from the center of Melbourne, Albert Park offers plenty of greenery and a lake right in the center of the track. The circuit utilizes some public roads – like Aughtie Drive and Lakeside Drive – and a parking area in its layout.
It feels slightly different from your traditional street circuits, like Monaco, because of the greenery rather than zipping past Melbourne buildings. However, there are still traditional street circuit elements, like barriers. “The circuit has all the characteristics of a normal street track, but it uses the perimeter roads of a public park,” Esteban Ocon said in Alpine’s 2024 race preview. “The street track element means the walls are close in some areas, and there’s very little margin for error. As the roads are used for regular traffic throughout the year, the track surface can be a bit bumpy, and the speed ramps up each session as the track rubbers in.”
One of the circuit’s most extensive overhauls came ahead of the 2022 grand prix, its return after a two-year hiatus. Before the transformation, overtaking was difficult, and the changes impacted numerous turns. Several were widened, making a more pass-friendly layout (there were 58 overtakes in 2022), and the track was resurfaced. Because it is a temporary facility, the circuit surface evolves throughout the weekend, starting on the slippery side and evolving as the rubber hits the road. Grip and braking will improve as the weekend progresses.
Overall, the changes made for more competitive and faster racing, especially with the 2023 return of its fourth DRS zone. It was introduced in 2022 but removed after the first two practice sessions because of safety concerns, given the high-speed nature of its location, on the straight between Turn 8 and the fast left-right sequence that starts at Turn 9.
Let’s dive into the details
- In Haas’ race preview, team principal Ayao Komatsu noted the Melbourne track is fairly different from the previous two races this season: “The downforce level will be back to Bahrain’s level, but it’s a very different circuit from there. Bahrain is more traction-orientated, whereas Melbourne is a bit more mixed. It has front limitation as well, and under high speed, it’s a bit more limited, and then the type of corner is very different. In terms of car set-up, even though the demands are different, we’re still going to be focused on the long-run pace. Degradation won’t be as low as Jeddah or as high as Bahrain, so somewhere in between.”
- The layout: This circuit is a mix of medium and high-speed corners with a number of overtaking spots, like at Turn 3. There’s a decently long straight before the drivers heavily brake into the corner, which also happens to be at the end of the DRS zone. Turns 9 and 10 are other overtaking opportunities and two of the faster corners at this track. However, as noted by Ferrari in its race preview, “drivers can also opt to stay in the slipstream and then give it their all to pass into turn 11, where overtaking carries a bit less risk.”
- Weather: It is late summer in Melbourne, so it’s expected to be warm but not overly hot. The high over the next three days is around 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit). There is typically a chance of rain when it comes to this race, but as of the publication of this story, it appears to be a low likelihood.
- Strategy: The Australian GP is typically a two-stop race and safety cars are often a factor (do you remember the 2023 edition of this race?). Pirelli opted to bring softer tire compounds, and it is the first time we will see the C5 tire in action (aside from the limited running during preseason testing). During last year’s race, the harder tires lasted most of the race.
(Track video courtesy of EA Sports F1 — learn more about “F1 24″ here.)
(Graphics: Drew Jordan/The Athletic. Lead image: Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images, Morgan Hancock/NurPhoto; Design: Eamonn Dalton/The Athletic)