Melbourne makes the Albert Park crater corridor 2 meters wider

The staging of the Australian Grand Prix widened the pit lane at Albert Park Circuit. The semi-public circuit in Melbourne City Park always had a rather narrow lane, which affected the speed limit for potholes. Typically, the speed in Grands Prix is ​​80 kilometers per hour, but in Australia the limit has always been 60 kilometers per hour.

The wall of the pit has now moved slightly towards the track. Andrew Westacott of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation explains to Speedcafe that the strip of grass between the tarmac and the pit wall on the right side of the start and end respectively has disappeared. “Since the circuit was laid and the pit lane was designed – I think in 1994 or 1995, since the first race in Melbourne in 1996 – the cars have gotten a lot bigger. That is why we decided to extend the pit lane by two meters.”

Australian Grand Prix had planned to replace track asphalt after the race in March, but the event was postponed to November. This means they have time to apply a new asphalt layer before the next Grand Prix race, although no decision has been made yet. “Postponing our event gives us the opportunity to do the work early, so a new layer of asphalt could be laid before that rather than after the next Grand Prix,” Westacott said.