“We’re going to be one of the most vaccinated places anywhere in the world. That makes us one of the safest places in the world and I think that becomes a competitive advantage to host events with confidence,” the Victorian Premier told reporters.

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Echoing Grand Prix CEO Andrew Westacott, who vowed to fight tooth and nail to keep the race when he spoke to The Age and Herald on Thursday night, Mr Andrews said the state would guard against complacency lest it opened the door to interlopers.

“We don’t take anything for granted but the grand prix is here to stay,” he said, promising Victoria would illustrate its big-event capacity by ensuring that the MCG would be “as full as it can safely be” for the Boxing Day Test match.

“We’re very confident that this is the place for Formula One,” he said. “There’s a long list of things that’ve got the brand ‘Australia’, but they’re held in Melbourne and across Victoria. That probably tells you something about where the real capital of our nation is,” Mr Andrews said.