For more than a quarter of a century, Melbourne has been the home of the Australian Grand Prix, and throughout that time, the famous Albert Park street circuit has hosted the race.
Due to the very nature of the track, built annually from public roads and car parks, it has remained unchanged since the first appointment in 1996. Although the cars have evolved radically, the circuit has not been able to do the same.
Until now
After years of talk of racing staying on one lane with hardly any opportunities to overtake, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation has finally given the Albert Park circuit the birthday it deserves.
There is a new layout that makes battles easier, a new tarmac and a bigger and better pitlane.
What has changed in Albert Park, home of the Australian F1 GP?
turn 1
The first corner of Albert Park, a known hot spot for crashes, has been widened 2.5 meters to the driver’s right. The idea is to avoid the funnel effect that forced the cars to enter a very narrow corner, and to facilitate the circulation of the single-seaters from one side to the other.
turn 3
The third corner, a key opportunity to overtake, has been widened 4 meters to the right, in addition to being re-profiled to increase the positive banking. This should make more trajectories available and even move the apex back so the overtaking options last a bit longer.
turn 6
Turn 6, previously an awkward right-hander, has undergone a significant change as part of the refurbishment. The corner has been widened by more than 7.5 meters to the right, going from being a strong braking zone to something that can be done almost flat out. The result is expected to be a speed increase of 70 km/h at this point.
Curves 9-10
The old chicane at turn 9 and 10 used to make the cars move towards an area bordering the palm trees until they reached the mythical turns 11 and 12, but this has disappeared. Now it’s a simple straight with little twists from Turn 6, through 7 and 8, to what used to be known as the 11 and 12 chicane, which now happens to be Turns 9 and 10. that the approximate speed here is close to 330 km/h, and that the drivers have to withstand 5.4 G forces entering turn 9. The back straight will be used as a new DRS zone.
turn 11
After the long flat out from Turn 6 to 10, Turn 11 is now an opportunity to overtake. The curve has been widened 3 meters inwards, and has been remodeled with a more positive camber to increase the lines when executing a movement.
turn 13
The penultimate corner has also been widened on the inside to make it harder for drivers to defend position.
Pitlane
The pitlane has been widened by 2 metres, and the pit wall is now flush with the edge of the track, where there used to be a grassy shoulder. Pending FIA approval, the plan is to increase the pitlane speed limit from 60 to 80km/h, which could open up the option for more different strategies.
new asphalt
The entire layout has been resurfaced, and it was work that was needed as the original pavement had not been improved since it was laid back in 1995, ahead of the first Australian Grand Prix the following year. And since it is a public road for 51 weeks of the year, the surface had been under traffic for 27 years.
Why has the Albert Park track changed?
The modification of the layout has been in the air for several seasons. Drivers and team bosses have long criticized a circuit that was seen as outdated, especially as cars got faster.
It has always been considered a single lane track, with low braking and bumpy sections, making overtaking almost impossible without a significant pace advantage.
In 2017, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation seriously looked into making changes to the circuit. That plan was no different than the work that has been done now, with a longer and faster straight on the lake side. However, in that version, the old Turn 11-12 complex was replaced by a section where there would be heavy braking to encourage overtaking.
Ultimately, the project was scrapped because the AGPC did not see enough benefits to justify disrupting Melbourne’s daily life by cutting off public roads.
However, criticism of the layout continued. The following year, the pilots protested again and the idea of making modifications was put on the table again. For this reason, the AGPC decided that if resurfacing was to be carried out, something necessary, it would be a significant disruption to daily traffic, and that would also allow parts of the circuit to be outlined.
So they listened to the words of some pilots to help bring this plan to life. A revised layout was agreed and, taking advantage of the standstill on Australian roads due to the pandemic, work began in early 2021.
The first phase consisted of widening the pitlane by 2 metres, which also moved the pitwall towards the edge of the track, where there had previously been a grass shoulder.
The second phase of the project consisted of the general widening and profiling of the circuit to create the new layout, and in the last and third phase, the complete resurfacing was carried out, which was completed earlier this year.
Albert Park track statistics in F1
• Length: 5,279km(0.024 km less)
• Curve: 14 (2 less)
• Fastest lap: 1:24.125 (Michael Schumacher, 2004)
• Number of races held: 24 (1996 – 2019)
• Capacity: approximately 140,000
• Most wins at Albert Park: Michael Schumacher (4)
• Team with the most wins at Albert Pak: Ferrari (8)
• Last winner at Albert Park: Valtteri Bottas (2019)
