Australian GP gets the green light from Victorian Government

The 2022 Australian Grand Prix is a go according to the event's CEO Andrew Westacott, with the Victorian government committing to next April's race at Albert Park.

Melbourne is set to host the third round of this year's F1 world championship, with teams returning to the city's Albert Park venue for the first time since 2019.

The start of the Covid pandemic forced Aussie GP organisers to scrap their event at the last hour in 2020, while restrictions and lockdowns prevented last year's race from taking place.

Despite a surge in daily cases in Australia since the end of last year, the state of Victoria is believed to be close to a Covid peak, with significant decreases of contaminations predicted in the next month.

Victoria has therefore committed to F1's popular event that will take place on April 10 and which is enjoying healthy ticket sales.

"We've got a commitment from the Victorian Government that the event's going ahead," Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO Andrew Westacott told Australia's Speedcafe.com.

"We've got a commitment from Formula 1 that they're coming here for Round 3. We're selling tickets like hotcakes, and we're 80 days away from the event.

"So everything is happening, everything is getting ready, and [we] can't wait to host the best drivers in the world, in new cars, on a new track."

Melbourne's Albert Park circuit has undergone several configuration changes involving seven corners that are expected to boost overtaking opportunities around the track while also increasing average speeds.

Westacott says that while health protocols will remain in place, the event will operate in close to normal conditions.

"There will be the need for everyone to be vigilant from a safety point of view and for attendees to be 100 percent vaxed, but we're in a massive park, it's predominantly outdoors, and we've been starved for major events," said the AGPC boss.

"So we're working with the government to make sure that everything we do allows us to have maximum crowds."

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Setbacks during the global pandemic due to spikes in cases or new strains have been the norm in almost all countries in the past year.

But Westacott believes Australia and the state of Victoria in particular are well on their way out of harm's way, meaning that more disruption or a race taking place behind closed gates are very unlikely.

"I am not even contemplating that," said the Aussie. "I think Australia has moved on from that, and I think Victoria has moved on from that.

"You look at the current rates of cases and so on, I think we're beyond doing those sorts of things behind closed doors. There's been no evidence of any event throughout the country where you're having to do that without crowds.

"That's not even on our radar, it's not even been discussed, whereas last year, and the year before, that was often the norm. That's not even a consideration at the moment and I don't think ever will be."

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