Australia wins two-year extension to Formula 1 tenure

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The Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne's Albert Park will be staying on the Formula 1 schedule for some years to come, with the announcement of a further two years to its existing contract.

The race was already assured of remaining on the calendar until 2035, but now a further deal will take that up to the end of 2037.

The state government of Victoria made the announcement on Thursday. The revised contract also means that Melbourne will host the season opener on four occasions during this time.

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The circuit has been the host of the Australian GP since 1996, but missed out in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the COVID pandemic on long-distance international travel.

Before that it was the traditional season curtain raiser, but that role went to Austria in 2020 and then Bahrain between 2021 and 2023.

Saudi Arabia will be in lead position for 2024, with Australia taking back the top spot in response to the timing of Ramadan in those countries.

“To have secured what is now 15 years of further tenure for the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne is an outstanding outcome,” said Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO Andrew Westacott

“It provides so many benefits to our city, our economy and our exceptional events industry, not to mention the aspiration it provides to young Australians pursuing their dreams in motorsport.”

Westacott is set to step down from his role after next year's race which is scheduled for April 2 as the third event on the calendar.

The AGPC said on Thursday that Westacott will not seek another term as CEO when his current agreement ends on June 30.

He was originally appointed general manager of operations in 2006 and took the top job in February 2011. He is the longest-serving CEO, having delivered 15 F1 and 15 motorcycle GPs.

He also oversaw the recent redesign of the Albert Park layout and the first resurfacing work since the race moved from Adelaide to Melbourne.

"Andrew has led AGPC through a transformative period and is to be commended on his outstanding contribution to motorsport and tourism in Victoria," said AGPC chairman Paul Little.

"It's been a source of immense pride to be able to work for the AGPC for so many years, and to work so closely with the wonderful AGPC team and all those involved in our major events industry," said Westacott.

"Thirty events, a few cancellations along the way and record-breaking crowds in 2022 have all provided special moments.

"The contrasting years between the start of COVID in 2020 and the way in which we opened Melbourne to the sporting world in 2022 both produced massive memories that I'll remember forever."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.