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One more attendee here. I’ll be in the main grandstand.
I was out in downtown Austin last Saturday night and loved the party atmosphere. Expecting this weekend to be spectacular! The Fan Fest sounds great.
I love it when a city properly embraces F1 and puts on lots of events for the fans. The best example of this would be Montreal. If only all the venues did the same!
The Clark stand is a good spot for the race. You’ll likely see some overtaking into Turn 8 and then see the cars accelerate away with the lake in the background – very picturesque! There are a fair few displays and bars at the back of the stand, including the Monster tent with their lovely promo girls…
Your best bet for meeting the drivers will be near the Paddock Club entrance, in the centre of the circuit, as the drivers arrive for the day. If you don’t mind waiting for a few hours you may be lucky during the official autograph sessions on the Thursday, but there’s usually far more people around then. Unfortunately, the drivers usually are nowhere to be seen during the pit lane walks on Thursday (in my experience anyway).
I’m almost certain that there’s no camping near the circuit. There are several hostels nearby in St. Kilda which are a bit on the pricy side for a backpacker’s place (around 30 pounds per night) but still way cheaper than a hotel. Plus hostels would be a good way to meet people as there will be other F1 fans staying there. Also, the locals are very friendly so you’ll never feel left out. Pete’s Bar at the end of the day’s racing is great fun and an absolute riot! (I won’t spoil the surprise for you…)
You’ll have an amazing time at Albert Park. If only every GP weekend was this much fun!
I’ll be attending for the fifth consecutive year – I have front row seats in the Fangio stand, where I should be in line with 5th-6th on the grid.
General admission at Albert Park is great in that you can walk around almost the entire track, both inside and outside the perimeter of the racetrack. This gives you multiple viewing angles. However, given that it’s a street circuit, generally you’ll only get to see 1-2 corners at any one time. You do get very close to the cars though!
The other caveats are that you’ll need to get to the track pretty early on the Sunday in order to get a good spot, plus a general admission ticket means that you can’t access the section by the paddock entrance, which is the best place to get driver autographs (if that’s important to you).
Out of all the F1 races I’ve been to, Albert Park probably has the best GA sections. However, don’t forget that you can access all GA areas with a grandstand ticket as well.
I’ve had both Silver and Gold membership before (the only difference being you get a free race programme with Gold). The pit lane walk is well worth doing. There’s a morning and afternoon walk – the latter is ridiculously busy but you have more chance of seeing drivers at that time. The start-finish line walk is average – you’ll have much more fun invading the track at the end of the race…
I would definitely go with the Clark 4 corners ticket. It’s a little more expensive than the Saturday GA + Sunday grandstand ticket ($410 vs $285) but you do get access to the track on Thursday and Friday (if you are free those days). Melbourne is one of the best GPs for support races and there’s loads of distractions to keep you entertained (such as live bands, dancing girls, helicopter rides, BMX stunt riders and bars on every corner!).
The Australian Grand Prix is definitely the best F1 event I have ever been to (with Montreal a very close second). I would strongly encourage every F1 fan to come to Albert Park – you won’t be disappointed!
I’m also attending this year’s Singapore Grand Prix. Staying at a backpackers on Boat Quay, about 2 minutes away from the F1 gates – I prefer to spend my money on drink/tickets/food/drink. I bought my tickets from the official SGP site and will pick them up when I arrive in Singapore.
I’m in the front row of section A9 at the pit grandstand as I like to see the build-up and get on the track easily for the podium ceremony afterwards. From my last visit in 2010 I recall there were some great GA vantage points at the inside of turn 1 and the outside of turn 3.
I love the Singapore GP weekend – I like the carnival atmosphere at the track and the fact that the night racing schedule allows you to party until the early hours, have a long lie-in and still get to the track without missing any action! Then repeat for all three days of the GP weekend!
I can’t wait to get to Singapore!
@aka_robyn
Looking through my photos from last year, the post-race party finished at around 2000. The last driver to appear (Vettel) left at 1900. You should definitely go along though – great fun!@jleigh
There are no restrictions on lenses at Silverstone. Last year there were even some fans shooting with 500s and 600s from the spectator areas. Shoot away!@strunk27
@S2G-Unit
Someone has to support Di Resta you see! The McLaren boys get all the support in the UK. Good to see that other F1 fanatics were in GS 11! That was probably the best seat I’ve ever had for a Grand Prix – I’ll definitely sit there each year I go. It’s easy to get onto the track from there too!@MRPiGoiL
I’ve been to Melbourne (outstanding), Singapore (very good), Silverstone (very good), Malaysia (good), China (average) and India (absolutely appalling!).I’d definitely recommend going to Melbourne. The race has a lot in common with Montreal – lovely parkland setting, walls close to the track, plenty of crashes, lots of overtaking, great atmosphere at the track. I think the cities are quite similar as well. Melbourne is a superb event – it was my favourite GP until I went to Montreal. The difference is that, where the GP doesn’t seem to mean a lot to the Melbourne locals, the whole of Montreal comes alive when the GP is in town, which makes it more special to me. Nevertheless, you will have an amazing time in Melbourne!
See you all next year!
@ericok
Great shots! I was also in GS 11 for the race and was on the track for the podium, a few yards from where your photos were taken! You didn’t happen to spot a very tanned chap in a kilt, wearing a Force India shirt by any chance?I have been to six other races and Montreal was definitely the best! The race always delivers action, the circuit is beautiful and Montreal is now my favourite city in the world! The nightlife was incredible!
Well worth flying all the way from NZ! Cannot wait until next year’s Canadian GP!
