The future of Supercars at the Albert Park event appears to be delicately poised for a number of different reasons.
The inclusion of FIA F2 and F3 on the AGP undercard has proved problematic for Supercars, with F2 taking over the pitlane that was originally built specifically for Supercars.
That means this year’s races are pure sprint races with no pitstops, while the cars will be pitted in temporary structures.
Like last year teams will have to park their transporters over on the Village Green which requires access under the tunnel at the back end of the circuit.
Other complications include no fan access to where the Supercars paddock is now located while it’s been harder for teams to lock down corporate hospitality options for sponsors.
Being a support category also means a timetable squeeze and high likelihood of races being timed out if there are delays such as crashes.
Next year there is also set to be a potential scheduling issue given the AGP will open the F1 season on what is shaping up as a March 9 date.
While all of that has led to predictions that Supercars won’t be at Albert Park next year, Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO Auld has offered a more optimistic take.
He says that F1 has a strong focus on events retaining their own “personality” – and that Supercars is a part of that.
Auld also revealed that his own talks with various F1 team principals had yielded a willingness to keep Supercars on the undercard.
“I’ve had a couple more opportunities to meet with the F1 team, including [F1 CEO] Stefano [Domenicali], and they emphasise every time the importance of each event having its own personality,” Auld told SEN’s Grid Walk radio show.
“So when you come to the Melbourne Grand Prix, it feels only like the Melbourne Grand Prix. That feels a bit obvious; we’re in a park, we’re on the door step to the city. And the V8s are a big part of that.
“When I went and met some of the [F1] teams and team principals, they made it clear that they love the V8s. They love each of the categories and the role they play in the event. That makes it very Melbourne, very Australian.
“We want to maintain our own personality because it works. It has worked over a number of years and it’s been a very popular event. And not just that, but all the flavour of the event that comes with Albert Park and being a street circuit. We want to play to our strengths.”
It’s understood that this weekend’a appearance on the AGP undercard is a one-year arrangement with between Supercars and the AGPC.
