Australian Grand Prix allows Melbourne to set aside pandemic

If Melbourne is truly the sporting capital of the world, as locals like to brag, then it is only fitting that Formula One at Albert Park marked both the first and now latest phase of the pandemic. Two years ago, the Grand Prix’s chaotic cancellation hours before the first practice session unmistakably heralded a troubling new era. It was one of the first major international sporting events called off due to the emerging virus.

On Sunday, more than 400,000 spectators tried to put the pandemic behind them. It would be premature to say that the domestic resumption of Formula One on Australian shores marks the end of Covid-19 (the 9,510 cases and one death in Victoria on the day of the race made that much clear) but with thronging crowds and exhilarating racing, it was at least momentarily possible to forget the turmoil of the past two years.

At first glance the pandemic, like the past, was a foreign country: masks were few and far between, occasional hand sanitising stations stood unloved and social distancing was impossible. Yet Covid-19’s varied impact remained all too evident.

The last time the world’s best graced Melbourne, they were met by a sea of yellow – fans supporting local favourite Daniel Ricciardo of French team Renault. Three years and a pandemic later, the dominant colour palate had subtly shifted to bright orange; the Australian driver having moved to McLaren and the Renault name no longer visible on the grid, with the teamrebranding as Alpine.

The Australian Grand Prix has always been popular but tickets to watch the street circuit racing around Albert Park Lake sold out so quickly five new grandstands were built to increase capacity. That growth has been fuelled by Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’, a viral