Written by Sam Stewart, Edited by Aiden Hover
The Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, Australia has hosted every Australian Grand Prix since 1996, with the honour of being the season opener in all but two of these seasons. Over these years, the track has seen few changes, with the extent of which being the shapes of sausage kerbs and positioning of bollards. However, the FIA has revealed bigger changes to the track for the 2021 event set to take place on the 19th-22nd of November.
The most notable change to the layout comes at turns 9 and 10, where the tricky high-speed right-left chicane has morphed into a much flatter, more flowing right-left complex which will allow drivers to carry immense speed into the turn 11-12 chicane. This second sector of the track is one of the most loved by Formula One fans due to the ridiculous speed drivers can take into the tight and complex chicanes, something that this new addition will undoubtedly improve further.
The second notable change Albert Park has made to the track is the lengthening of the approach to turn 13, along with increasing the camber of the corner entry. This will allow more overtaking opportunities to happen into the corner, as cars will be able to carry more speed and brake later whilst being able to still get through the corner. This turn has also been widened by 3.5 metres.
Turns 1, 3, 6 and 15 have also been widened to allow side by side racing throughout more of the circuit. This will allow drivers to be able to challenge their opponents through more of the track, hopefully increasing the likelihood of overtaking in some of the trickier and tighter areas of the circuit.