Melbourne 'not ruling out' night GP

The Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne could yet be turned into a night race after a government official said that the possibility had not been completely ruled out yet

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone warned over the weekend that the Melbourne race could be dropped from the calendar if the race organisers did not accept turning it into an evening event to attract a greater television audience in Europe.

Although it had previously been thought that such a move was unlikely, the Victoria State's tourism minister Tim Holding has said that making it a night race is actually under consideration.

"We've said at this stage our position is we haven't ruled it out," he was quoted as saying by ABC.

"We want to have a look at what a proposal might look like, we obviously want to have a look at what impact it might have on the amenity of the Albert Park area.

"Obviously the race itself is more attractive from a television rights perspective, but we'll make a judgement in terms of what's in the best interests of Melbourne, what's in the best interests of Victoria and whether it's the right look for our Grand Prix to have.

"We've worked very hard to build a very successful event and we don't want to jeopardise that."

Ecclestone is hoping to hold F1's first night race in Singapore next year and if it proves a success he wants other events to follow suit.