After two years of absence due to the pandemic the Australian Grand Prix is set to return this April with a renewed circuit. Major renovations and additions that hint Formula 1 will be racing in Albert Park for more than the four years left of contract suggest, despite rumours of an event in Sydney.

“When you’re doing the track modifications that we’ve done, which is about $20 million dollars worth, you don’t do those just for the three or four years we’ve got of the current contract – and I say three because it actually goes out to 2025, so it’s actually this year plus another three,” Australian Grand Prix Corporation’s CEO Andrew Westacott told Speedcafe.com.

“We’ve always got an eye to the future, and in the world of Formula 1 and MotoGP, you’ve really got to be looking to that future, and there’s nothing other than optimism and ongoing dialogue that we always have with people.”

A dialogue that necessarily needs to be supported by planning and developing ahead.

“People ask me about ‘When do you start contract negotiations?’ I’ve always held the view with Formula 1 and Dorna at MotoGP is you’re starting the contract negotiations the minute you ink the previous one because you’ve got to be continuously developing your facilities, the track, and also obviously the entertainment and the programme you put on,” explained Westacott.

“When you look at what Zandvoort has done, and Mexico, and what Miami will probably do, we’ve got to make sure we’re up the front of the pack.”

“The intent of it is to make the racing more exciting,” he went on. “There was a criticism that Formula 1 would come into town and they’d love everything about Melbourne from an infrastructure point of view, the industry, the hotels, the accommodation, the restaurants, just the vibe they get in town and the fact that the circuit is only four and a half kilometres away from the CBD, but they always came and said you’ve got to do something to get a little bit more overtaking.”

This is the very first time Albert Park undergoes a significant renovation in its history.

“The track had never been resurfaced in the 25 years since it was put down in 1995 before the first race in 1996.”

“Rather than just putting down the same asphalt surface, we decided that we’d make some changes within the limitations that we’ve got of having a lake, having sports fields, having infrastructure like a sports and aquatics centre, and some football stadiums.”

The new Albert Park is going to be quicker, with more room for overtaking and an asphalt mix specifically designed to push the tyres to the limit.

“What we did was made subtle changes to camber, to the asphalt mix, widening of some corners, took out a chicane and also widened pit lane.”

“So the combination to some of the parts is designed to introduce more tyre strategy, hopefully get more tyre deg with the more aggressive asphalt mix, and make for more overtaking.”