Albert Park Circuit facts for kids
Albert Park Circuit (2021–present)
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| Location | Albert Park, Melbourne, Victoria (Australia) |
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| Time zone | UTC+10:00 (UTC+11:00 DST) |
| Coordinates | 37°50′59″S 144°58′6″E / 37.84972°S 144.96833°E |
| Capacity | ~125,000 (44,000 seating) |
| FIA Grade | 1 |
| Opened | 20 November 1953 Re-opened: 7 March 1996 |
| Closed | 30 November 1958 |
| Major events | Current: Formula One Australian Grand Prix (1996–2019, 2022–present) |
| Grand Prix Circuit (2021–present) | |
| Length | 5.278 km (3.280 mi) |
| Turns | 14 |
| Race lap record | 1:20.235 ( Sergio Pérez, Red Bull RB19, 2023, F1) |
| Grand Prix Circuit (1996–2020) | |
| Length | 5.303 km (3.296 mi) |
| Turns | 16 |
| Race lap record | 1:24.125 ( Michael Schumacher, Ferrari F2004, 2004, F1) |
| Original Circuit (1953–1958) | |
| Length | 5.027 km (3.124 mi) |
| Turns | 9 |
| Race lap record | 1:50.0 ( Stirling Moss, Cooper T45, 1958, Formula Libre) |
The Albert Park Circuit is a special track used for motorsport races. It's built on public roads around Albert Park Lake in Melbourne, Australia. Every year, it hosts the exciting Formula One Australian Grand Prix. It also hosts other races like the Supercars Championship Melbourne SuperSprint.
Even though it uses regular roads, the circuit has parts that feel like a real racetrack. This is because of the special safety areas with grass and gravel. However, some parts, like near the lake, have concrete barriers. This makes it feel like a "street circuit" where space is limited. The circuit has a top-level license from the FIA, which means it's safe for the fastest races.
Contents
Designing the Race Track
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The Albert Park Circuit uses everyday roads that go around Albert Park Lake. This lake is just south of Melbourne's city center. Before the first race in 1996, these roads were rebuilt. This made sure the track was very smooth for racing.
Drivers often say the track is quite fast and easy to learn. The corners are placed in a way that helps them get good lap times. However, because the land is flat and there aren't many long straight sections, it can be hard to overtake other cars. It's also not the easiest track for spectators to watch from unless they have a special grandstand seat.
Setting Up for the Grand Prix
Each year, a lot of temporary structures are built for the Grand Prix. This includes fences, bridges for people to cross, and grandstands for fans. This setup starts about two months before the race. Everything is then taken down within six weeks after the event. During this time, parts of Albert Park, like the golf course and restaurants, have limited access.
The Australian Grand Prix is very popular in Melbourne. It attracts huge crowds. In 2022, a record 419,114 people attended over the weekend. The main race day alone had over 128,000 spectators. The current agreement to hold the Grand Prix at this circuit lasts until 2035.
Changes to the Track Layout
In 2021, the track was changed to make it even faster and more exciting. This happened after the Grand Prix was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The biggest change was to turns 9 and 10. They were changed from a slow, tight corner to a fast, sweeping turn.
Other changes included making the pit lane wider by 2 meters. Some corners like turns 1, 3, 6, 7, and 15 were also made wider. These changes are expected to make qualifying lap times up to five seconds faster!
Using the Track Every Day
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For most of the year, when there are no races, you can drive on most parts of the track. Regular cars can drive on it, either clockwise or anti-clockwise.
Some parts of the road are different from the race track layout. For example, turn 4 is replaced by a car park entrance. The speed limit on these roads is usually 40 km/h (about 25 mph). This is much slower than a Formula 1 car, even when it's in the pit lane!
The back part of the track, called Lakeside Drive, has two-way traffic. It's illegal to overtake here. You might even see black swans crossing the road! These swans live and breed in Albert Park.
Circuit History
Early Racing at Albert Park (1953–1958)
Before World War II, people tried to use Albert Park for car races. But it wasn't until 1953 that the Light Car Club of Australia succeeded. They used a different layout of the circuit for the Australian Grand Prix that year.
Albert Park is special because it's the only place to host the Australian Grand Prix in two different ways. It hosted races that were part of the World Championship and also races that were not. In the 1950s, races ran in an anti-clockwise direction. Today, the circuit runs clockwise.
The original circuit was about 5.027 km (3.125 miles) long. It hosted six race meetings between 1953 and 1958. Famous drivers like Stirling Moss won races here. The last race on this original track was in November 1958. The circuit then closed for racing for many years.
Events Held at Albert Park
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The Albert Park Circuit hosts many exciting races.
- Current Events
- April:
- Formula One Australian Grand Prix
- FIA Formula 2 Championship
- FIA Formula 3 Championship
- Supercars Championship Melbourne SuperSprint
- Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship
- Former Events
- Australian Drivers' Championship (1957–1958, 1996)
- Australian Formula 4 Championship (2019)
- Australian Formula Ford Championship (2009–2010, 2012)
- Australian GT Championship (2008–2010, 2016–2019)
- Ferrari Challenge Asia-Pacific (2018–2019)
- Porsche Supercup (1999)
- S5000 Australian Drivers' Championship (2022)
- Supercars Championship Supercars Challenge (1996–2006, 2008–2017)
Fastest Race Laps
Here are some of the fastest official race lap records at the Albert Park Circuit, as of April 2023:
| Class | Driver | Vehicle | Time | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Prix Circuit (2021–present): 5.278 km | ||||
| Formula One | Sergio Pérez |
Red Bull RB19 | 1:20.235 | 2 April 2023 |
| FIA F2 |  Frederik Vesti |
Dallara F2 2018 | 1:30.712 | 2 April 2023 |
| FIA F3 |  Grégoire Saucy |
Dallara F3 2019 | 1:34.405 | 2 April 2023 |
| S5000 |  Aaron Cameron |
Ligier JS F3-S5000 | 1:40.3696 | 8 April 2022 |
| Supercars Championship | Scott Pye |
Holden Commodore (ZB) | 1:46.006 | 9 April 2022 |
| Porsche Carrera Cup | Max Vidau |
Porsche 911 (992) GT3 Cup | 1:47.9868 | 1 April 2023 |
| Grand Prix Circuit (1996–2020): 5.303 km | ||||
| Formula One | Michael Schumacher |
Ferrari F2004 | 1:24.125 | 7 March 2004 |
| Formula Holden | Todd Kelly |
Reynard 92D | 1:49.246 | March 1998 |
| Formula 3 |  Bruno Senna |
Dallara F304 | 1:50.8640 | 30 March 2006 |
| Formula 5000 |  Ken Smith |
Lola T430 | 1:54.6975 | 28 March 2010 |
| GT3 | Craig Baird |
Mercedes-AMG GT3 | 1:54.7311 | 22 March 2018 |
| Group 7 | Michael Lyons |
March 717 | 1:55.541 | 17 March 2013 |
| Supercars Championship | Chaz Mostert |
Ford FG X Falcon | 1:55.7280 | 15 March 2019 |
| Porsche Carrera Cup | Cooper Murray |
Porsche 911 (991 II) GT3 Cup | 1:58.3294 | 16 March 2019 |
| Ferrari Challenge |  Renaldi Hutasoit |
Ferrari 488 Challenge | 2:00.0713 | 25 March 2018 |
| Nations Cup | Paul Stokell |
Lamborghini Diablo GTR | 2:00.685 | 8 March 2003 |
| Formula 4 | Jayden Ojeda |
Mygale M14-F4 | 2:02.1683 | 17 March 2019 |
| Super Touring | Jim Richards |
Volvo 850 | 2:03.547 | 8 March 1997 |
| Formula Ford | Chaz Mostert |
Spectrum 012 | 2:04.4805 | 27 March 2010 |
| GT4 | Ryan Simpson |
McLaren 570S GT4 | 2:05.9644 | 15 March 2019 |
| Group A | Terry Lawlor |
Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R | 2:07.9622 | 15 March 2015 |
| Aussie Racing Cars | James Small |
Holden Commodore-Yamaha | 2:16.0196 | 15 March 2008 |
| Group C | Milton Seferis |
Holden VH Commodore SS | 2:18.9539 | 14 March 2015 |
| Pickup truck racing | Grant Johnson |
Holden Commodore Ute | 2:22.3877 | 1 April 2006 |
| Original Circuit (1953–1958): 5.027 km | ||||
| Formula Libre | Stirling Moss |
Cooper T45 | 1:50.0 | 30 November 1958 |
| Sports car racing | Stirling Moss |
Maserati 300S | 1:55.8 | 25 November 1956 |
See Also
In Spanish: Circuito de Albert Park para niños
- Adelaide Street Circuit
