Towards a change of government in Australia?

The Australian Grand Prix has experienced significant losses in recent years – around 40 million euros last year – and both the organizers and political leaders are questioning the future of the race beyond the end of the contract in late 2015.

One possibility for reducing the costs borne by the State of Victoria could be the implementation of an alternation, as is done in Germany between Hockenheim and the Nurburgring and as will be done in Spain from 2013 between Barcelona and Valencia.

According to the Australian newspaper Herald Sun, the Australian Grand Prix officials are currently searching for a city capable of hosting F1 alternately with Melbourne. Citing high-level sources, the newspaper states that Sydney and Perth are potential options. These two cities are among the largest in the country—Sydney is Australia’s most populous city ahead of Melbourne, and Perth is the 4th most populous city.

« We have the race until 2015 in its current form. Negotiations beyond that date will focus on the value for money for the economy of the State of Victoria (where Melbourne is located), » a spokesperson for the State of Victoria government said.

Even if the idea seems interesting, not everyone shares the desire to see two Australian cities take turns hosting the Australian Grand Prix. Ron Walker, the head of the Australian Grand Prix organization, is not at all in favor of this alternation: “It would be a recipe for disaster. All major events are hard-won, and we are not going to share ours with another Australian city.”

Mark Webber, one of the two Australians in F1 alongside Ricciardo, also opposed this idea over the weekend: “I think that shifting the organization between several (federal) states would probably cause more headaches than it would be interesting. Melbourne has been so successful for so long now. But you should never say never, and nothing lasts forever.”

Bernie Ecclestone, the head of FOM, recently told the Australian newspaper The Age that if Formula 1 leaves Melbourne, it will leave Australia because he doesn’t see any other city capable of hosting a F1 Grand Prix: “If we were to have a divorce with our friends in Melbourne, we would probably leave Australia. Because I can’t imagine how Adelaide could do it, nor another city, if Melbourne cannot.”