Formula One organisers have announced that a season launch event will be held in Melbourne ahead of the opening race of the 2019 season, the Australian Grand Prix.
On the Wednesday before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne will play host to a Formula One season launch event.
The free public event, organised in partnership with AGPC (Australian Grand Prix Corporation), has been created to encourage fan engagement with the teams and drivers of Formula One.
Held in Federation Square, the launch event will follow a similar theme to the F1 Live event held in London prior to the 2017 British Grand Prix.
There will be a live stage show, a walking teams and drivers parade, and music acts to get fans energised for the forthcoming season.
Sean Bratches, Managing Director Commercial Operations, Formula 1, said:
“Since 1996, except on two occasions, Formula 1, the greatest racing spectacle in the world has kicked off its year in Melbourne and there really couldn’t be a location better than this fantastic city. The passion, knowledge and enthusiasm of the Melbourne crowd deserved a special thanks and this is why we have decided to organise the first ever Season Launch event in the history of the sport.
“We are incredibly excited to be putting on such a spectacle for our fans. It’s vital that we put them at the heart of everything we do, and this event provides us with a platform to engage with fans not just locally but also globally. The 2019 season also marks another historic moment for the sport as we celebrate our 1000th Grand Prix in China later this year and we are excited to see all the teams come together to kick off the season with a bang”.
The Australian Grand Prix has been on the official F1 calendar since 1985, initially contested in Adelaide. The event has been run on Melbourne’s Albert Park since 1996 and has frequently been the opening race of the year.
