‘Sydney had what I would describe as a red-hot crack in 2022,’ Martin Pakula says

Australian Grand Prix chairman Martin Pakula has revealed how close Sydney came to stealing the Formula One event.

Australian Grand Prix chairman Martin Pakula has revealed his blueprint to rev up the event’s impact on business and the economy – and turned the lights out on hopes of a night race.

In an exclusive Herald Sun interview, Mr Pakula spoke of the secretive fee taxpayers’ fund to secure the Formula One event, revealed how close Sydney came to pinching it and warned of a ban on Palestine, Israel and Russian flags.

Pole position in his hopes for the Grand Prix was helping businesses cash in on its global appeal and urging Victoria’s marvellous major events to help sell each other to the world.

“I’d like to make it fill a more prominent space in a business-to-business kind of realm,” Mr Pakula said.

Martin Pakula is hoping businesses cash in on the Grand Prix’s global appeal. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

“I want Victorian, Australian-based businesses to think of the Grand Prix as somewhere they can interact with global businesses in a way they don’t have an opportunity otherwise. I want to see major events leverage off one another, so I’d love to see a world where the Australian F1 Grand Prix is promoted at the Australian Open.

“And the Melbourne Cup is promoted at the F1 Grand Prix, the AFL grand final is promoted at the F1 Grand Prix.

“And we use our major events calendar, which is unparalleled, to boost all of the major events that make Melbourne strong and make Victoria great.”

Mr Pakula could “not talk about the specifics” of the secret race fee paid to F1, but said “the total cost of the event was disclosed in the annual report every year”, including the contentious licence expense.

Mr Pakula says he wants to see major events leverage off one another.

He said organisers were preparing for one hell of a party should hometown hero Oscar Piastri win.

“If Oscar wins, first of all I don’t see myself leaving the track for a fair while after,” he said. “Secondly, don’t forget we’ve brought back the track walk after the race, so that would look extraordinary. And the publicans and rest of Melbourne restaurateurs will have a very good night if he does.”

Piastri, who will headline an inaugural F1 fan live site at Melbourne Park Oval on Wednesday, on Tuesday posed for a photo in front of a huge Aus GP poster stamped with the mantra “It’s Melbourne. Expect nothing less”.

It was framed with Piastri front and centre, just like he would like to be on the Albert Park winner’s podium, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to his left and world champion Max Verstappen on his right.

While global broadcasters would like to see Melbourne’s race run under lights, Mr Pakula said a night race was not on the cards. “I think the thinking around a night race has changed a bit ... if you go back 20 or 30 years, when we first got the race, F1 was all about Europe and the broadcast was all about going into Rome, London or Brussels,” he said.

“That was when the momentum for a night race was stronger because it is a better TV time for Europe.

“The fact now is F1 is a global sport; what time you are broadcasting into Singapore, Vegas or Miami or The Gulf is now important, so there is not so much pressure now.

“There is really no push coming from anyone about a night race and I would suggest in terms of the way we market Melbourne to the world, as much as a night race might look spectacular, I don’t think it would look more spectacular than Albert Park by day.”

Mr Pakula admitted Victoria came under huge pressure just to keep the race three years ago. “Sydney had what I would describe as a red-hot crack in 2022,” he said.

“They had a bid that was well organised, well funded and secretive and there is no doubt that it made our negotiations over the extensions of the contract trickier.

“But we managed to see them off and we managed to secure the event until 2037.”

Mr Pakula said protesters or anyone trying to bring banned flags into Albert Park would be ejected.

“We don’t have any drivers from Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Palestine, and there is no need to have those flags, so they are not allowed on the circuit,’’ he said.

Originally published as ‘Sydney had what I would describe as a red-hot crack in 2022,’ Martin Pakula says