A few races in the F1 calendar are run late at night, with the surroundings in darkness and the track illuminated by floodlights.
Singapore and Abu Dhabi are among them, two races that have seen their viewership numbers rise. Perhaps in the future the Australian grand prix can join that crowd.
— I think if we could just make it work, it would be fantastic. A fantastic spectacle but also great for reaching the rest of the F1 audience, says the country’s Formula 1 chairman Paul Little to The Herald Sun.
Sunday’s race starts at 3 p.m., which is 7 a.m. in Sweden. The sun sets just after 6pm in Melbourne.
— There is no question that more people would watch if they could see it live at a reasonable time of day on the other side of the world, says Little.
If the race is moved, it won’t happen anytime soon.
“As it is today, we cannot run an evening race even if we wanted to without a significant amount of work to get the lighting in place,” he says.
Last year, 420,000 visitors were attracted to Albert Park, making it one of the most popular competitions.