Formula 1: Bernie Ecclestone has no choice but for the Australian Grand Prix to return to the start of the season, it was claimed today.
The Melbourne race was switched from its traditional season-opening slot to April this year — after Bahrain and Malaysia — in order to accommodate the Commonwealth Games.
A return to the top of the schedules was expected but in the run-up to the Albert Park race last weekend, Ecclestone questioned the logic in such a move.
Formula One's commercial rights holder was impressed with the television viewing figures for this season's first race in Bahrain, helped by a Europe-friendly start time.
However, Victoria state premier Steve Bracks dismissed any notion of Melbourne not hosting the first race of 2007.
"I was there when we renegotiated the contact and one of the conditions was that it is the first race of the Formula One calendar every year," he said. "That is a firm contract and we will revert to being the first race in the future."
Bracks hailed the grand prix as the perfect end to a three-week festival of sport in Melbourne which began with the Commonwealth Games.
Ticket sales were down slightly for this year's race but Bracks, whose state government fund the race, was impressed by the turnout.
A crowd of 102,000 were there to see Fernando Alonso win an incident-packed race and Bracks claimed the weekend was a success.