Two big changes have been made to the corner at the Australian Grand Prix’s Albert Park Formula 1 circuit where two major accidents occurred last year.
Alex Albon crashed heavily on the exit of Turn 6 in practice for the 2024 race, an accident he also suffered in 2023, after his car was suddenly destabilised by running slightly wide on the exit kerb there.
In the grand prix, George Russell hit the barriers near the end of the race after being caught out by Fernando Alonso’s slow corner entry, and Russell’s Mercedes ended up rebounding into the middle of the track and coming to a rest on its side.
Both issues were highlighted by drivers in subsequent conversations with the FIA about what changes might be possible in the future without going too far.
Turn 6 at Albert Park was only recently reprofiled as part of a major set of layout changes to the track for the 2022 race, and many felt that the blind entry to the corner and its high-speed nature made it a much more interesting and challenging turn.
Drivers were conscious of diluting this new challenge too much, so the FIA and the body behind the race the Australian Grand Prix Corporation engaged in extensive dialogue to discuss appropriate modifications for the 2025 race, which is the opening round of the season on March 16.
As photographed by The Race Members Club member Jack Aitken in Melbourne, evidence of the changes has already been spotted with rare construction work going on at the site of the corner, installing different kerbing.
The Race can confirm that the exit kerb has been altered along with the barriers as well, to address the two main problems.
An FIA spokesperson confirmed to The Race that the kerb at the exit of Turn 6, and into the apex of what is technically Turn 7 in the kink left that immediately follows, has been replaced with a single specification of “negative kerb” – one that sinks below track level, rather than rises.
“This adjustment removes the transition from negative to positive kerb that was present in this area, which previously had been addressed by local modification (grinding) of the kerb to provide a smoother transition between kerb types,” the FIA said.
“The intent is to remove the possibility of this transition destabilising a car.”
The gravel trap will extend to the back of the kerb now. Before, the thin, higher exit kerb was followed by artificial run-off, then a small strip of grass, and then gravel.
Furthermore, the barrier on the left-hand side of Turn 7 has been moved and reprofiled “to mitigate the possibility of a car coming to rest in a position near the racing line following an impact with the energy absorbing barrier in this area”.
The FIA Safety Department, drivers and teams all had input on the changes, which the FIA hopes will improve safety while “maintaining corner dynamics and exciting racing”.
This has also prevented a knee-jerk change to the layout of the corner. The AGPC has told Australian publication Speedcafe it would have been possible to slow down entry speeds to Turn 6 significantly at the cost of the “characteristics” of that turn but this was not desirable especially as the car rule changes for 2026 are likely to slow cornering speeds anyway.
