Australian Grand Prix CEO Andrew Westacott will step down after 12 years.Credit:Getty Images
“I just love delivering major events,I love doing things for the state of Victoria,I love working with a great team,” Westacott told theToday program on Channel Nine.
“The timing was right for me and the timing is right for the corporation as well.”
Australian Grand Prix Corporation will make an announcement on the process to find Westacott’s successor “in due course”.
Victoria has hosted the Formula 1 grand prix for 25 years – since 1996 – after nabbing it from Adelaide. The race will now remain in Melbourne until 2037.
The Grand Prix had record attendance this year;an estimated crowd of 419,144 people over four days.Tickets sold out for next year’s event within hours of their release.It’s expected there will be a bumper crowd of up to 130,000 on for the final day.
Westacott said it had been a source of “immense pride” for him to work with the Australian Grand Prix Corporation,which is responsible for both the F1 race at Albert Park and the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island.