Australian GP will be ‘better prepared’ as ticket sales climb again for 2023

The organiser of the Australian GP said they will be “better prepared” following a rise in ticket sales for the race.

Like everywhere in the world, the Australian Grand Prix hosts are noticing a boost in interest when it comes to getting a ticket for the race.

In 2022, a circuit record was set with 419,114 fans attending the Albert Park Circuit across the three days and that number is anticipated to rise further in 2023 with the race occupying the third spot on the calendar.

With that in mind the Australian Grand Prix Corporation’s CEO said they are going to be “better prepared” for the race during the first weekend of April.

“It’s no April Fool’s joke,” Andrew Westacott told Speedcafe.com.

“We set the bar very high in 2022. It was the bookend of COVID after the awful events of March 13, 2020 and everyone has now seen that Formula 1 puts on a great show in Melbourne.

“To have Formula 2 [and] Formula 3 there as well, I think we’re going to actually surpass the numbers that we had in 2022.

“We’re probably two months ahead of where we were in terms of those sales so what it means is that the [event promoter] team can really fine-tune those fundamentals and make sure that spectator viewing, toilets, amenities, food and beverage, wayfinding, entertainment, and just the show goes to the levels that are expected everywhere.

“There were some shortcomings just because of COVID and staff shortages, but we’ll make sure we’re better prepared, so it’s really, really exciting.

“We’re very, very pleased with where things are at.”

Tickets for the event are largely sold out with just a few in the hospitality areas still available. The cheapest ones in those categories are currently on sale for 550 Australian dollars (£313).

Westacott, who will step down after this year’s event, said they are trying to strike the balance between “backpackers and billionaires.”

“We are trying to find the right balance between price and quality for tickets,” he said, as per GPFans.com. “It is often said that Formula 1 is for a sport for backpackers and billionaires, but I don’t think backpackers financially have the option to go to Las Vegas or Miami and even the billionaires have to swallow when they see those prices there.

“I always want to make sure people get their money’s worth. We want to keep our event accessible and give people the chance to go here and that’s why Thursday and Friday are still very affordable options. In terms of ticket prices, we favour Sunday increased from a hundred to only 125 Australian dollars (£69).”

Read more: F1 2023 calendar ‘couldn’t have been put together much more expensively’