Official: Melbourne will host F1 until 2020
The government of the State of Victoria announced that it has reached an agreement to host the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne for an additional 5 seasons.
Denis Napthine, the Premier of Victoria, announced that an agreement has been reached to extend the hosting of the inaugural round of the F1 World Championship for an additional five seasons, from 2016 to 2020. In an interview with 3AW, the politician commented: “This is a great deal for the State of Victoria and I congratulate Ron Walker [the director of the Australian Grand Prix] and Minister Louise Asher, who have been tough negotiators on behalf of Victoria.”
The various officials of the Australian Grand Prix agreed last week to extend the contract linking Melbourne to F1 following a meeting with Bernie Ecclestone in London. Denis Napthine also hopes to capitalize on Daniel Ricciardo’s presence in F1 and his good performances to ensure the success of the race: « With this contract, we hope to see our Australian Daniel Ricciardo win the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix and become world champion. »
As in previous seasons, Melbourne is expected to retain the opening of the F1 World Championship, with a possible Grand Prix scheduled for the weekend of March 15 for the 2015 season. As a reminder, Melbourne has been hosting the Australian F1 Grand Prix since 1996, with only the circuits of Barcelona, Monaco, Silverstone, the Hungaroring, Spa, Monza, and Interlagos having been on the calendar longer than the Australian city.
