MELBOURNE, Australia — The 2022 Australian Grand Prix smashed the attendance benchmark Formula One achieved during the 2021 season and set a new record for the highest attended weekend sporting event ever staged in Melbourne.
An estimated 420,000 fans poured through the gates at Albert Park between Thursday and Sunday — an average of 105,000 spectators per day — to watch the first race on the streets of Melbourne since 2019.
The weekend figure topped the 400,000 achieved at last year’s United States Grand Prix in Austin, F1’s best attendance result of 2021. However, it fell short of the 520,000 fans who attended the 1995 Australian Grand Prix, the final race in Adelaide before F1 shifted the event to Albert Park.
Australian Grand Prix Corporation chief Andrew Westacott believes the figure at this year’s event could have been even greater had they been permitted to sell additional tickets. An estimated 25,000 fans missed out on a race day ticket, with the event selling out several months in advance.
On Friday, local hero Daniel Ricciardo said Albert Park was clearly the busiest he had ever seen.
“It’s always been pretty wild here, there’s no denying that,” he said. “But it felt like it was turned up a notch, or two, or three. It’s definitely a good crazy and there’s a lot of support and love. I think everyone’s just stoked to have the race back.”
Source: www.espn.com