Webber Will Drive in Spectacular Prelude to this year's Australian GP

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Traffic will be brought to a standstill as the unmistakable sound of a roaring F1 engine reverberates from the top of one of Melbourne's busiest motorways on Saturday, March 19.

A speed limit has not yet been set for Webber's bridge outing but he hit speeds of up to 200km/h when he drove an F1 car over the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2005 in an event beamed live around Australia.

Normal speed limits vary between 80 and 100km/h for the 50,000 motorists using the bridge daily.

All six lanes of traffic will be closed for Webber to speed his Red Bull racer the full length of the 490m bridge and back in an early morning drive over the Yarra River and Victoria Harbour.

Hundreds of spectators are expected to gather at the start and finish line of the event which will end with a public display at Docklands, where Webber will show off his F1 race car and greet fans.

The F1 bridge drive - a joint initiative between the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and Red Bull Racing -- will be announced officially this week.

The event has been a closely-guarded secret among F1 officials determined to make this year's Melbourne race memorable.

But a source close to the event told the Sunday Herald Sun Victoria Police, VicRoads and Melbourne Council had all been notified Webber would star in the event before setting his sights on winning his maiden Melbourne Grand Prix.

"It's been under wraps for months but now it's all set to go," the source said.

The bridge run is the latest stunt Grand Prix officials have orchestrated to boost the exposure of the race.

Others have included F1 cars doing a lap of the city and St Kilda Rd in 2005 and visiting Kinglake in 2009 in the wake of the Black Saturday bushfire.