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The date for the 2023 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix has been set and is only pending confirmation by the FIA World Motor Sport Council.
Speedcafe.com can exclusively reveal next year’s event will run from March 30 until April 2, with Formula 1 on track from March 31.
Andrew Westacott, Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO, confirmed the news, which is set to be published on the event’s official website today.
“The 2023 Formula 1 calendar is close to being finalised in totality,” Westacott told Speedcafe.com.
“It always happens around this particular part of the year. There’s no doubt, however, there’s still some moving parts.
“The exciting thing for all Australian race fans, Melbourne fans, visitors to Melbourne, and Albert Park, we’re not one of those moving parts.
“So whilst there’s still some moving parts on the calendar, we’re not one of those.
“The dealings that Formula 1 are having is to lock away other dates in other jurisdictions around the world.
“The great thing is, we’ll be Round 3. April 2 is the date for Melbourne next year.
“These processes have always got to go through, and this is the point I’d absolutely emphasise, it’s still always got to go through the World Motor Sport Council at the FIA.
“But the fact that we’ll be Round 3 on April 2, [is] probably one of the easier parts to do when you’re going through the calendar.”
Discussions surrounding the date have been ongoing for some time, with March 26 initially targeted before moving back a week.
It will see the race weekend straddle daylight savings and Motorsport Australia officials fronting at two significant events in as many weeks, with the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour to follow a week later.
Next year’s race will be notable for the debut of Formula 2 and Formula 3, with the junior formulae having never previously raced in Australia.
CEO of both series, Bruno Michel, confirmed to Speedcafe.com that there is a long term commitment to bring the next generation of Formula 1 stars to Melbourne as part of the Australian Grand Prix.
“It’s exciting to have Formula 1 in Melbourne until 2035 but the thing that actually adds the icing on the cake is to have Aussies confirmed as race starters, and also highly likely to have Australians across F1, F2, and F3 with Callan Williams and Jack [Doohan] doing well and truly cemented in F2, and [Christian] Mansell in F3,” Westacott added.
“It is really exciting. It’s great to have homegrown talent across all three categories, and it’s great to be able to give these young aspirational Aussie drivers the opportunity to race in front of their home fans and their family and friends.”
As Round 3, next year’s Albert Park event will follow pre-season testing and the opening round in Bahrain, testing regulations having recently been changed to facilitate that on a more permanent basis.
It will then move on to Saudi Arabia, as it did this year, for the second round of the campaign before jetting to Melbourne.
For 2024, Australia is set to return to its ‘traditional’ position as the opening round of the year, a place it will occupy on four other occasions between 2025 and the conclusion of the current contract in 2035.
