Australian GP chief warns F1 drivers to "stop whinging"

Perez, Red Bull, Australia — Photo: © LAT Images

Australian Grand Prix

Australian GP chief warns F1 drivers to "stop whinging"

Long journey for a single weekend left some drivers unimpressed

Sam Hall

Monday 11 April 2022 14:35 Updated: 16:54

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Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO Andrew Westacott has warned F1 drivers to "stop whinging" about the difficulties of racing in far-away locations.

With a record-breaking calendar of 23 grands prix this season, F1 has again been forced to schedule double- and triple-headers.

Perhaps surprisingly, the weekend's Australian Grand Prix was a standalone event, much to the chagrin of some drivers, notably Red Bull's Sergio Perez who declared that "coming to Australia for a single race is quite painful for everyone".

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Westacott, however, was unimpressed as he told Reuters that drivers had "better get used to it" and they "have got to stop whinging in some respects".

Australia keen to retain early-season slot

Before the pandemic, Australia had hosted the F1 season-opening race on all but two occasions after moving from Adelaide to Melbourne in 1996.

Running the event back-to-back with the returning Chinese Grand Prix in 2023 could appease the drivers but Westacott has ruled out a switch to later in the year when F1 returns to Asia.

"We've proven we can have success both opening the season and coming in after a couple of races," Westacott explained.

"The time for Formula 1 in Australia is early in the season."