Melbourne’s Formula One grand prix cost Victorians almost $62m in 2015, but the government says that is the price of international exposure.

Expenditure again dwarfed revenue in 2015, forcing the state government to fork out $61,735,000 to cover the difference.

Victorians have covered $279m in losses since 2011, but the government stands by the cost of the four-day event.



The government knows the case for this event doesn’t stack up Sue Pennicuik

Government frontbencher Richard Wynne said it brought interstate and international visitors to Melbourne, and the city received global exposure.

“I don’t think you can buy that sort of exposure,” he said.

“If it’s good enough for [NSW premier] Mike Baird to try and steal it off us and make it one of his election commitments, I think it speaks well of the grand prix being part of Melbourne’s landscape.”

Strong sales in corporate hospitality and sponsorship drove revenue growth of 4% to $39.8m. However, that failed to cover even half the cost of putting on the race, which climbed above $100m for the first time.

In September, the state government extended the contract for the Melbourne race until 2023.

The Victorian Greens MP Sue Pennicuik said successive governments had misrepresented the economic benefits to justify the losses.

“The government knows the case for this event doesn’t stack up, which is why they refuse to make the contract public or force the event to accurately count attendances,” she said.



Government frontbencher Richard Wynne says the exposure Melbourne receives speaks well of the grand prix being part of its landscape. Photograph: Julian Smith/AAP

The Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) estimated the 2015 crowd at 296,000. The national TV audience for the race peaked at 3.82 million.



In August, the AGPC chairman, John Harnden, ruled out moving the event from its street circuit in inner suburb Albert Park for cost reasons.