Overseas ticket sales "might be a challenge" for Australian GP

Australian Grand Prix

Overseas ticket sales "might be a challenge" for Australian GP

The Melbourne race has been moved from its March date to November

Sam Hall

Wednesday 13 January 2021 10:50

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Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO Andrew Westacott has conceded it "might be a challenge" to allow overseas ticket sales for the rescheduled race.

On Tuesday it was announced the Australian GP would no longer play host to the 2021 season-opener, with the event postponed to November to become the third-last race of the year.

The race was moved for reasons related to the global Covid-19 pandemic.

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Despite naturally hoping the situation will have improved by November, Westacott was cautious when questioned on his expectations for the number of fans that could be in attendance, especially those from beyond the country.

“Clearly, that is going to be dependent on where those tickets can be sold – Victoria, interstate," he said. "Overseas might be a challenge.

"There is a lot of people nationally who have not had their dose of motorsport from a Formula 1 point of view so we would expect a lot of people from interstate to hopefully be available to come across the borders into Victoria.”

Currently, there is a mandatory 14-day quarantine period for all international arrivals. F1 would not have been exempt from this and, with pre-season testing originally scheduled 14 days before Friday practice at Albert Park, a postponement was the only option.

Westacott does, however, expect to attract a large national crowd, and hopes travel restrictions will allow spectators from all six Australian states.

He added: “I hope to be able to stage an event that has the maximum number of fans possible. [But] What is that maximum number?

“I mean, one of the things that we worked very carefully on at the Grand Prix Corporation is to make sure that every facility we have is Covid safe, Covid compliant with the requirements of the Victorian government at the point in time.

“We’ve got a massive outdoor venue, we’ve got a massive facility that can be tailored to those health requirements and, from a Covid point of view, I think that is something that is going to allow us to go on sale and go on sale with large ticket numbers."