Australian GP chief gives verdict on F1 night race in Melbourne

Exclusive: Calls for a later start time at Albert Park have been made to cater for F1 fans in Europe

The Australian Grand Prix will not switch to a night race in the near future, confirmed CEO of the event Travis Auld.

Albert Park hosted the season-opening race of the F1 season for the first time since 2019 this year, with Lando Norris winning a chaotic and action-packed grand prix in the rain.

But while the 3pm (local) start time is convenient for audiences in Australia and Asia, fans in the UK had to wake up at 4am (GMT) on Sunday to watch the race, with anticipation high for Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari debut.

The inconvenience of the start time for European fans has led to suggestions the street circuit could host a night race in the future – with similarities to night sessions at tennis’s Australian Open – but Aus GP Corporation boss Auld insists the current schedule works well for the event, the spectators and the sport itself.

“I've had these conversations with Formula One,” said Auld, when asked by The Independent about the prospect of a night race in the future.

“There used to be a lot more pressure for a night race, purely because of the European bias of the calendar. As the calendar has grown and broadened, I'm not sure that's the case as much anymore.

“And in fact, I think we share the view with F1, that this event works pretty well during the day with the backdrop of the city. So, at the moment, we don't have any great reason to consider changing the time.”

The popular Melbourne race, in 2023, started at 4pm local time – 6am in the UK, after the clocks changed prior to the April race – but was altered last year due to an extended, red flag-impacted race 12 months prior, when the low sun in the evening impacted the visibility of the drivers.

With the race having a contract with F1 until 2037, Auld did not rule out a move of the start time to help European fans in the future, saying: “There’s a whole lot of factors that go into the timing of it: the overall track schedule, what time of year it is, the impact on daylight saving and so there's a series of things that need to be considered.

Albert Park will not host a night race in the near future (Getty Images)

“If we could move the time around, because it worked better for everyone, of course we would do that. It's just not as simple as picking a time that might work for one fan.”

This year’s event in Melbourne set a new record of 465,498 fans over four days – the highest attendance on record at Albert Park.

Silverstone has the modern-day record for the highest attendance, at 480,000 in 2023 and 2024, while the final Australian GP in Adelaide in 1995 hosts the all-time F1 record at 520,000.

The second race of the 2025 season takes place this weekend with the Chinese Grand Prix, and the first sprint weekend of the season, in Shanghai.