The FIA has had to step in to accommodate Cadillac at the season-opening Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
The Albert Park Circuit is all set to host the very first race of the sport’s latest era under the 2026 technical regulations.
Not only will the fans be able to see the all-new cars on track in competition-spec for the first time, Cadillac will also make its debut as F1’s 11th team.
While the race was momentarily in jeopardy owing to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, the event has been seemingly given the green signal to go ahead as planned.
That said, the FIA have had to step in to make a last minute rule change that will subsist throughout the Grand Prix weekend.
With Cadillac’s entry, the pit lane is going to get a busier place. But the Circuit organizers aren’t exactly equipped to increase the square footage to accommodate them.
“It’s certainly a challenge,” said Australian GP Chief Events Officer Tom Mottram.
“Our pit building and pitlane are probably one of the smaller ones on the calendar at the moment, so we’ve done a lot of work with F1 throughout the year since we’ve known the 11th team is coming on board to make sure we’ve got additional team hospitality, additional freight storage, additional pitwall room and things like that.
“The one thing that we can’t really change, unfortunately, at least this year, is the garage space.”
To remedy this, however, the FIA has decided to reduce the pit lane speed limit from 80kmph to 60kmph.
But with the Australian GP having secured its long-term future with a deal that will run until 2037, Mottram reassured the fans that this change will only be short-lived with the Circuit expected to upgrade its infrastructure soon.
“So it is a bit of a one-year stop-gap where it will be a bit of a squeeze,” he explained. “It also meant we’ve had to reduce our pitlane speed from 80km/h to 60km/h, just because it will be a little bit tighter for teams to pull in.
“But we wouldn’t change that for the excitement that will come with the 11th team in Cadillac.”
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