23/01/2022
NEWS STORY
Over two months before hosting the third race of the season, the final stage of resurfacing sees the Albert Park circuit's upgrade completed.
Along with the resurfacing of the entire track, the changes to the layout, which are aimed at increasing opportunities for overtaking and promoting faster and more competitive racing, include the widening of Turns 1 and 6, while the chicane (Turns 9 and 10) has been removed to create a straight.
What was Turn 13 has been realigned and slightly extended to create a tightened corner (between Turns 13 and 14), as well as being widened and the camber adjusted, while what was Turn 15 has been widened and its camber adjusted also. All of which means the circuit now officially features 14 corners.
According to the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, the average qualifying lap time will hopefully decrease by approximately 5 seconds, from 1:21.0s to 1:15.8s, while the average qualifying speed will increase by 15 km/h (9 mph), from 236 km/h (146 mph) to 251 km/h (155 mph).
The resurfacing is the final of three phases carried out since the circuit last hosted the Grand Prix in 2019. Phase 1 was the widening of the pitlane, while the second phase featured the various changes to the layout.
It's the culmination of probably four or five years of work," AGPC CEO, Andrew Westacott tells Speedcafe.com. "It's a credit to Downer, to IEDM, to the team at the Grand Prix Corporation, the input from the FIA and F1, international consultants, in Hart Consulting from a national perspective, and also Hermann Tilke, who assisted with some technicalities of camber and corner redesign.
"It's come together at the perfect time," he added. "What it means is that we're going to have new spec cars race for the first time in three years on a brand new asphalt circuit, and those cars are going to be probably four or five seconds a lap quicker."