The 2023 Australian F1 Grand Prix event:
’the show deliberately placed above the sport’
This is an aerial photo of Turns 1 and 2 of the Grand Prix track. It shows the GP infrastructure covering four sports grounds. Photo: facebook.com/ausgrandprix
The much trumpeted Australian F1 Grand Prix event did not receive much positive comment, apart from references to the claimed ‘record’ attendance of 444,631. (SAP’s calculations put the real patronage of the event by individual fans at around 205,000.)
The Age of April 3 ran an article headed ‘A crazy race’ by Chip Le Grand, which described the event as ‘the most chaotic trace run at the Albert Park circuit’.
The grandprix.com website of April 3, published a review of the 2023 Australian Grand Prix headed ‘F1 slammed as animator of chaos in Australian GP’. Extracts from this review are quoted below.
>> F1 is facing near unanimous backlash after “the show” overtook the sport at the Australian GP.
>> World champion and Melbourne winner Max Verstappen warned earlier in the weekend that he won’t be here long if F1 pushes ahead with initiatives like the proposed sprint format for qualifying.
>> …. Formula 1 is facing widespread negative feed back after multiple red flag periods and grid re-starts – one of which with just two laps to go – turned the excitement into a farce.
>> …. the show turned into carnage. The question inevitably arises now as to whether the show was deliberately placed above the sport.
There appears to be a feeling that the Albert Park race reflects the policy of the owners of the Formula 1 race series, the US company Liberty Media, which sees Fomula 1 racing just as another money-maker.