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Changes are expected around the home of the F1 Australian Grand Prix off the back of a string of heavy crashes at the fast right-hander.
The turn was reprofiled as part of broader works that saw the elimination of the chicane on Lakeside Drive when Formula 1 returned in 2022.
However, heavy crashes for Alex Albon and George Russell have underscored concerns drivers have had over the reprofiled corner.
“The exit kerb and the way that it’s angled to the wall, it tends to force drivers back onto the racing line,” noted Alex Albon, who crashed at Turn 6 in both 2023 and 2024.
“It was brought up, but obviously maybe it’s down to the park or whatever. It wasn’t changed.
“And there’s also the kerb. There’s kind of a double-stepped kerb on the exit, and especially as we have these low cars now, everything we touch, we can use the first bit of kerb, but if you go too far across and you hit the second kind of ramp section, it forces the car into the air, so there’s two things that could be done better.”
After the 2021 track modifications, the corner is now negotiated in sixth gear with little more than a lift of the throttle.
The apex point was pushed back by 7.5 metres with the gravel trap expanded as much as possible to accommodate, within the existing limitations – namely trees behind the current fence line.
It was a change made with a view to aiding overtaking further around the lap, with Lakeside Drive now sporting a DRS zone in an effort to further improve the racing.
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Off the back of this year’s race, the FIA confirmed to Speedcafe its appetite to make modifications to the corner to reduce the risk associated.
According to AGPC boss Travis Auld, that work remains ongoing.
“The FIA advised us they’d like us t0 have a look at some different configurations,” he told Speedcafe.
“We’ve spoken to them about some options, but we haven’t landed on anything yet.
“But we’re working together with a view that we can solve it.
“We’ve a little bit of time, but if there’s a better configuration, we’ll pursue it.”
That likely means tightening the apex radius once more.
While that is not the only potential outcome, it is the simplest and most likely given enlarging the gravel trap or realigning the fencing would likely necessitate the removal of trees.
“The conversation is around how do we tighten it up, but knowing that [in] ’26 things are changing again, and so not doing anything that would mean that it doesn’t make sense in ’26.
“Everyone’s on the same page.
“And the suggestions that are floating around aren’t anything too dramatic,” Auld added.
“It’s not causing too much stress.”
Next year’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix opens the season on March 14-16, with Formula 2 and Formula 3 again topping the support card.
Local interest will be headlined by the return of Supercars.
Though a contract for touring car championship to return, discussion remains ongoing regarding paddock location after it was bumped from the secondary pit lane this year, and fan access was limited as a result, it is expected a multi-year deal will be inked in the near future.
Tickets for the 2025 event are available for pre-sale on October 7 (signup for which is free and closes tomorrow) ahead of general on sale on October 8.
