This year’s Australian Grand Prix was called off just hours before the new season as the COVID pandemic started to affect the whole world. 

Despite tough lockdown restrictions continuing to be in place in the state of Victoria since July – where the Albert Park circuit is located – Australian Grand Prix CEO Andrew Westacott says that the Melbourne venue anticipates holding the first race of the 2021 season. He confirmed it’ll be in its normal slot on the provisional calendar.  

“Our discussions with Formula 1, and also with Dorna – who run MotoGP – are regular and very, very positive in all regards,” Westacott said in an interview with Speedcafe.com. 

“What I know for both, I’ll call them world tours, but with both motorsport calendars, that both intend to issue their provisional calendars for the 2021 season in mid to late-October. 

“What that means for Formula 1 is Melbourne will be in its traditional March season-opening slot on the provisional calendar. 

After the messy cancellation back in March of the Grand Prix, Westacott concedes that they must be flexible when it comes to next year’s calendar as well. The plan is still to hold the race next March, however.  

The event would be subject to a sign-off by the Australian Government to make sure any potential measures due to the coronavirus are satisfied.  

“We’re adopting an approach which, if you wanted to use the words, is modular, expandable, adaptable, flexible, and it’s got to be sensible and very, very safe,” Westacott said. 

“When it comes to the development of that calendar and, therefore, the locking in of the race, we have to be flexible, and we have to be sensible and safe. 

“Everything is ultimately health driven, but Victoria is doing a great job of driving back down the numbers. 

“My optimistic approach is that we’ll be ready to have spectators at Albert Park in late March. 

“I look at what Formula 1 and MotoGP are doing,” he added. 

“Technically there’s 31 races across 14 different countries, and Formula 1 and MotoGP are leading the way in an international motorsport environment. 

“In Australia, Supercars is operating very effectively, so we believe that we can operate and deliver a great event in March.” 

“The Grand Prix Corporation, the government, and Formula 1 will all have to realise that decisions have to be made this side of Christmas,” he explained. 

“Once the provisional calendar is put out there in October, as the first race, it won’t be more than a month’s time before that’s finalised, and locked away. 

“That will be, obviously, a collective decision, but once it’s locked away, we need to commit to that, because it’s not in anyone’s interest to have a cancellation of the nature of March this year. 

“It’s a hypothetical [the potential change to when the Australian Grand Prix will be held in 2021] at the moment, and at this stage, the first part of the appetite is to do it in March as the season opener,” added Westacott.  

“If circumstances change, then we need to be flexible and change with those circumstances, but for the time being we’re well and truly going to be on that provisional calendar for March. 

“Some four weeks after that, we’d be locking it away, and if we’re on the provisional calendar for March we’d be intending to confirm the March date as well, some four to five weeks later.”