Melbourne, Victoria · AU
A semi-permanent circuit around a picturesque lake in Melbourne's inner suburbs. The Australian Grand Prix opener traditionally kicks off the F1 season, with the city's coffee culture and arts scene adding to the weekend.
Albert Park Circuit is a temporary street circuit, located in Melbourne, Victoria. Drivers cover 5.278 km (3.28 miles) and 14 corners each lap, run clockwise.
The circuit opened in 1953 and holds FIA Grade 1 licensing. It appears on the Formula 1 calendar. Around 125,000 spectators can attend.
Racing came to Albert Park in 1953, on a course laid through the parkland around the lake. That first Australian Grand Prix was a non-championship Formula Libre race, and Doug Whiteford won it by six laps — a margin of some 30 kilometres. Local racing continued until 1958, running anti-clockwise, and then stopped for more than three decades.
The circuit returned as a political project. In the early 1990s the Victorian premier Jeff Kennett set out to raise Melbourne's international profile through major events, and took the Australian Grand Prix from Adelaide. The 1996 rebuild reused many of the original park roads but reversed the direction of travel to clockwise, moved the pit straight away from the lake and added the Clark Chicane. It has held the race ever since, frequently opening the season.
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