Australian Grand Prix overturns ‘track invasion’ ban

Photo by Dan Istitene – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Fans crossing the Albert Park circuit following the 2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix won’t face the threat of a $200,000 fine which saw last year’s sparsely filled podium celebrations.

Now branded the ‘Track Walk’, fans will be free to cross the circuit – a popular tradition at race tracks around the world – to join the podium celebrations on the front straight once the chequered flag falls and the track cleared after this year’s 58-lap season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

“The Track Walk is a unique and cherished experience for our fans, and we are very excited to be able to welcome it back for 2025 and have this incredible moment shared around the world,” said Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGCP) CEO, Travis Auld, in a statement.

“There is nothing quite like seeing the passionate fans join in the celebration following the race and we can only hope that this year they’re celebrating an Aussie on the podium.”

It comes after a ban on crossing the 5.278km track, which sees many fans climb the fencing, was imposed in 2024 with the threat of fines – as much as $200,000 – ensuring attendees remained outside the circuit.

Podium celebrations for Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz’s win in 2024 were attended by team personnel but with the front straight empty of cheering fans after warnings against a ‘track invasion’ were enforced by Victoria Police.

In announcing the ban for last year, Auld suggested it was not a permanent ban, with hopes the celebration could return at a future race.

Those hopes have seen the ban applied for only a single race, with 2025 no longer under the spotlight.

A statement on grandprix.com.au said a number of measures have been taken to ensure the ‘Track Walk’ is as safe as possible, including new purpose-built barriers for managed access to the circuit, as well as increased security.

The safety issue posed by fans crossing a still live ‘hot’ track – meaning cars are still circulating at speed, including support vehicles driven by personnel such as the medical crew – became a hot topic in 2023.

A record 444,631 attendees at Albert Park in 2023 saw some of the sell-out crowd enter the circuit – climbing trackside barriers – immediately  following the race while F1 cars were still on a cool-down lap.

Shocking footage on social media also showed fans reaching the stricken Haas F1 car of Nico Hulkenberg, left at the second corner after the German driver limped across the finish line with power issues.

The vision made global headlines and prompted an investigation by sport’s governing body, the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile).

“All of this presented significant danger to the spectators; race officials and the drivers,” said a statement issued by the FIA, which found the Australian Grand Prix in breach of the International Sporting Code.

The ACGP was called to front the steward’s office and agreed it was an “unacceptable situation that could have had disastrous consequences”.

Part of the remediation plan required for the Australian event – which currently has one of the longest contracts in the sport, with Albert Park signed on until 2037 – was the now lifted ‘track invasion ban’.

Photo by Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images

“The Australian Grand Prix Corporation advises that given the ongoing FIA investigation into the early track breach at the conclusion of the 2023 event, there will be no track access for patrons following the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2024,” an AGCP media statement said.

Other venues have been fined for breaches, including the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, which was ordered to pay €500,000 ($AU830,000) after several hundred fans invaded the track at the 2024 United States Grand Prix.

This year’s March 16-18 Albert Park race – officially ‘Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Australian Grand Prix 2025’ – is already a sell-out, with organisers introducing a new, free non-ticketed F1 Melbourne Fan Festival at Melbourne Park Oval from Wednesday 12 March.