Albert Park Circuit

Albert Park is a semi-permanent circuit run on public roads around a lake in central Melbourne, in use for racing only a few days a year. That gives it the classic street-circuit problem of a green, dusty surface on Friday that transforms by Sunday, and the smooth-but-slippery character that comes from ordinary road tarmac.

The 2022 reprofiling changed it substantially. Corners were widened, the old turn nine and ten chicane was removed entirely, and the result cut around five seconds from the lap while adding a fourth DRS zone. What had been a processional circuit became one of the fastest on the calendar, with average speeds above 240 km/h.

It remains unforgiving. Run-off is limited by the parkland setting, walls are close at several corners, and the fast sweep through turns nine and ten leaves no room for a correction. Safety cars are frequent, and races here are regularly decided by which teams called the interruption correctly.