Australia wants to move F1 Grand Prix from Melbourne to Sidney

Due to the Covid-19 epidemic that exploded in 2020, just a short time ahead of the first round of the Formula 1 world championship, Australia has renounced hosting the Grand Prix within its borders both on the occasion of that season and in the current one of 2021. In this way, therefore, the ‘land of kangaroos’ has not been included in the calendar since 2019, the year in which the Circus took part in the last edition in Oceania on the Melbourne circuit, which since 1996 has been synonymous with the inaugural stage of the championship.

Despite the efforts made all over the globe to contain the virus as much as possible, the Australian government and institutions have formalized the return of the top racing series starting from 2022, the year in which Melbourne will no longer be the first round of the F1 world championship, but rather the third after Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. However, regardless of this welcome confirmation, the country is also addressing another issue facing the future, this time focused exclusively on the track that could host the local GP.

In these days, in fact, the Federal State of New South Wales has formalized the proposal to transfer the Australian GP from Melbourne to Sidney – the state capital – not only to make the most of the reopening to tourism, but also to apply in replacement at the Albert Park circuit, contract expiring in 2025. A request supported by the Premier of the region Dominic Perrottet, who thus commented on the possible arrival of F1 in the same city that hosted the Olympic Games in 2000: “We have the largest city in the country, and one of the largest in the world – he said in an interview reported by theage.com – why should Formula 1 stay in Melbourne when it could come here? We are thinking of waging a battle to welcome the GP here, and with it also the major events on a national and international scale for the immediate future “.

A thought also shared by the President of New South Wales, Tony Shepherd, one of the greatest representatives of the desire to transfer the Australian GP from the State of Victoria to the one he represents: “Our inhabitants love motor racing like anyone else – he told The Daily Telegraph – and we have a top tier city to host such an event. We should choose the layout carefully to avoid disturbing the residents, but it would be a great opportunity to show our city to the eyes of the world ”.

In the event that Sidney really manages to get the better of Melbourne, the project would indicate the construction of the route close to the port area, following the style of the famous Monaco city circuit. Moreover, again in case of success, it would be the third city to host the Australian Grand Prix: before the appointment with Melbourne, the first venue that welcomed Formula 1 was Adelaide, which started the history of the Circus in 1985, remaining included in the calendar up to the 1995 edition, to then leave the honours to Melbourne.