The Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne is ‘not going anywhere,’ according to an official statement.
The report surprised Westacott, but event organizers indicated they would battle to maintain the race in Australia's second largest city.
Andrew Westacott, the CEO of the Australian Grand Prix, has disputed reports that the Formula One race may be moved to Sydney once its current contract expires in 2025, claiming Melbourne wants to maintain it.
The New South Wales state government is in “high level negotiations” considering snatching the event from Melbourne, according to Australian network Seven Network, without specifying sources.
Due to COVID-19 regulations, the 2020 and 2021 races in Melbourne have been canceled.
The report surprised Westacott, but event organizers indicated they would battle to maintain the race in Australia’s second largest city.
He told Australian network Nine Network on Friday, “It’s a highly sought-after event, but the Australian Grand Prix is not going anywhere as far as I’m concerned.”
“We have a good connection with Formula One that has been established on trust over a quarter-century.”
The event was held in Adelaide from 1985 to 1995 before being relocated to Melbourne thanks to a contract struck between the Victoria state government and former Formula One commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
“We’re here till 2025,” Westacott continued, “but we can never be complacent, and we should never take our eyes off the ball, as Adelaide demonstrated in the 1990s.”
“We hope to keep the event here beyond 2025,” said the organizer.
Melbourne is set to host the event in April 2022, after an almost three-month lockdown ended on Friday.
Foreign athletes who are not completely vaccinated for COVID-19 will be denied visas to enter Australia, according to Australia’s immigration minister, raising the possibility of high-profile withdrawals from the Australian Open tennis tournament and other sporting events.
It is unlikely to be a problem for the Grand Prix, according to Westacott.
“F1 has a model that is predicated on a 100% vaccination target, I’m confident. At the moment, I believe it’s around 98 percent of the traveling contingent since they’ve seen how effective it is for their own business “He went on to say, “ingenuity.”
