Australian GP takes steps to stop future track invasions

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Organisers of the Australian Grand Prix have announced a total lockdown on fan access to Melbourne's Albert Park Circuit after the end of this year's race.

It follows criticism of the way the venue handled a track invasion at the end of the 2023 race, in which fans flooded onto the track while cars were still returning to pit lane.

The race had ended in confusion with four red flags and a safety car restart that has resulted in another multi-car accident.

One of the cars involved, Nico Hulkenberg's Haas, was still on the side of the track awaiting retrieval when crowds surged past on their way to watch the podium celebrations.

While peaceful and well-intentioned, The incident was roundly condemned at the time by the FIA who criticised event organisers for not ensuring that the expected crowd control protocols had not been in place.

Read also: Track invasion puts Australian GP promoter in breach of rules

"The security measures and the protocols which were expected to be in place for the event were not enforced resulting in an unsafe environment for the spectators, drivers and race officials," race stewards said.

The organisers were directed to come up with a plan to make sure there was no repeat of the situation this year, but discussions with the FIA are still ongoing forcing the promotors to make a unilateral decision.

"The Australian Grand Prix Corporation advises that given the ongoing FIA investigation into the early track breach at the conclusion of the 2023 event, there will be no track access for patrons [at this year's race].

"Decisions regarding patron access to the track at the conclusion of future races will be made at a later date," the statement from the AGPC issued on Thursday added.

The venue also saw a track invasion take place in 2017. And Australia is by no means alone in this regard, with fans breaking onto the track at turn 1 after the end of the 2023 Sao Paulo GP even as cars took the chequered flag.

Race organisers there have similarly been tasked with coming up with a suitable action plan that satisfies the FIA before the next race is held there in November.

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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.