How to get to the F1 in Melbourne
Officially, there’s no parking at the Aus GP within the Albert Park F1 circuit. But there is parking available at a couple of specific spots in other parts of Melbourne.
The best way to get to the Grand Prix, however, is using public transport, specifically the Melbourne tram service.
More info on both of these, plus taxis, below.
Parking at the Australian GP
Traffic
Firstly, driving around Melbourne on a good day can be a traffic-filled experience. So during Grand Prix weekend it can be a nightmare.
If you don’t have to drive then leave your cars at home!
Parking near Albert Park circuit
There is no parking available at the Albert Park circuit itself for the Australian Grand Prix.
All the residential streets around the circuit are for permit holders or have short time limits.
The Melbourne city council put additional parking restrictions in specific areas around the track, to stop F1 fans parking in nearby residential streets and disrupting everything for the people that live there.
The map below shows these zones. All yellow, orange and red areas are restricted to a maximum of 90 minutes parking, or are permit-only.
At the 2023 Melbourne Grand Prix 495 parking fines were issued for people illegally parking in those areas, so don’t try and park there or in any of the other residential streets around the track for the F1.
Parking in Melbourne city
Your best option is to park in the South Melbourne city and take a tram or enjoy a walk.
A couple of good places to park with lots of spaces are:
The Crown Casino charges A$25 / day for parking in their multi-level car park. It’s a 35 minute walk from the track or a 4 minute walk from stop 124A on tram route 96 which goes to the circuit. There was also a free express bus service between the casino and gates 2 / 3 last year.
The Melbourne Exhibition Centre is A$18 / day and is a 7 minute walk from stop 124A on tram route 96, or is a 30 minute walk to the circuit.
Both of those parking options can (and should) be booked in advance. Use the links above to book or contact each venue directly.
Albert Park is walkable from both of those car parks. Being able to walk back to your car at the end of each day of the Grand Prix weekend will make your life a lot easier. It will save you the grief of queuing for a tram along with 100,000 other fans and being squeezed in to the trams like sardines.
Tram Services
The Melbourne tram company, Yarra Trams, offer free tram services to and from the Albert Park track for F1 ticket holders from Thursday to Sunday. If you get on one of these you don’t need a Myki card (tram ticket).
This is the best way to access the Grand Prix venue, but bear in mind that each day there’s likely to be 100,000 other people all using the same service. It can be especially bad leaving Grand Prix at the end of the day.
The tram you need to take depends on which entrance gate you’re aiming for.
That, in turn, depends on which stand you’re in or whether you have Park Pass general admission.
| Albert Park F1 - Melbourne Tram Services | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gate | Nearest Tram Stop | Tram Departs from | Tram route |
| 1 | 130 - Middle Park | Southern Cross Station | 96 |
| 2 | 129 - Melbourne Sports & Aqautic Centre | Southern Cross Station | 96 |
| 3 | 131 - Melbourne Sports and Aqautic Centre | Southern Cross Station | 12 |
| 5 | 20 - Anzac Station / St Kilda Rd | Flinders Street / Melbourne Central | 3a, 5a, 6a, 64a |
| 8 | 25 - Commercial Road / St Kilda Rd | Flinders Street / Melbourne Central | 3a, 5a, 6a, 64a |
| 9 | 27 - High St / St Kilda Rd | Flinders Street / Melbourne Central | 3a, 5a, 6a, 64a |
| 10 | 30 - St Kilda Jct | Flinders Street / Melbourne Central | 3a, 5a, 6a, 64a |
The trams in the table above are express and don’t stop at any other stops, so you need to join them at the station listed.
These trams run from 5.30am each day until 10pm each day of the GP weekend.
Trams will run as often as every 1-2 minutes during peak teams and every 3-4 minutes at less busy times.
Additional info:
- This infographic from Yarra Trams provides more info
Other public transport
Use the Public Transport Victoria journey planner to help plan your travel route to and from Albert Park street circuit.
Other tram services are still in operation and are not express. Plus there’s a lot of buses and replacement bus services that run during the weekend. These don’t cost much at all.
Below is the map showing all the tram routes and bus services offered over the race weekend around the circuit.
Getting a taxi
There are taxi ranks dotted around the outside of the circuit on the street near entrances 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 and 10.
These have designated drop off / pick up points for rideshare services as well.
Travel from the airport
If you’re flying in to Melbourne airport for the F1 and want to get to the Melbourne CBD (central business district) you can get the airport’s SkyBus express service which will take you directly to Southern Cross station in the centre of the city.
Single-way tickets are A$22 and the buses run every 10 or 15 minutes. The journey takes around 45 minutes.
Currently there’s no train option from the airport to the city.
