Image credit Marie V.
Here are my tips for those of you going to the Austalian Grand Prix with a Park Pass General Admission (GA) ticket.
This guide includes examples of the different GA view points, Fan Zones, info on food and drink, water, what to bring and lots more.
Contents
General admission at the Australian Grand Prix
General admission tickets for the Australian Grand Prix are called Park Pass tickets.
You can watch the racing live from one of the many trackside viewpoints (more on those below) with these tickets, just not in the grandstands.
Image credit Vincent W.
Alternatively you can sit at one of the ‘pitstops’ dotted around the circuit which are seating / eating / drinks areas with shade and big screens.
Albert Park is one of the best F1 street circuits in the world for general admission viewing. Combined with heaps of off-track entertainment these tickets are a great option.
Park Pass tickets
Below are the ticket prices for a Park Pass ticket at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix:
| Australian GP Park Pass Ticket Prices | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PASS | ADULT | CONCESSION | JUNIOR |
| Thu - Sun | $279 | $195 | $20 |
| Sunday | $149 | $105 | $15 |
| Saturday | $119 | $83 | $10 |
| Friday | $79 | $55 | $0 |
| Thursday | $45 | $32 | $0 |
See the full Australian GP schedule for info of what’s going on on circuit each day of the F1 weekend.
Concession ticket holders need to show one of the following forms of ID to enter the track:
- Full Pensioner Concession Card
- Full Time Student Card (including International)
- Health Care Card
- Veterans Affairs Card
Junior tickets are for children aged 14 and under. They must be accompanied by an adult with a full Park Pass ticket.
How to purchase tickets
Park Pass tickets can be purchased from the official Australian GP website.
Alternatively, if they’re sold out, you can go through one of the official ticket resellers such as F1 Experiences or P1 Travel.
Full list of authorised resellers is here.
Additionally the Grand Prix Travel subreddit has a weekly ticket buy-and-sell thread that is worth checking.
Melbourne F1 general admission views
There are two types of trackside viewing areas available for Park Pass ticket holders at the Australian Grand Prix:
- Sloped viewing mounds with big screen visibility
- Track-level viewing areas without guaranteed screen visibility
The best thing to do, if you’re going for multiple days, is to use the first day to walk around as much of the track as you can. Scope out the different viewing spots then make a beeline for those early in the morning come Saturday and Sunday of the race weekend.
The Albert Park general admission map below shows the different viewing areas around the circuit.
Sloped viewing mounds
A: Inside – Turn 2
B: Outside – Turn 8
C: Outside – Turn 9
Track-level viewing points
These viewpoints are shown as the blue rectangles D to N on the map above.
They are not guaranteed to have visibility of a big screen, but if they are alongside a grandstand and you stand in the right place then there’s a chance you might be able to see on.
Some of these have small sections of concrete bleachers that are a few rows high. These are prime but are always the first to fill up.
D: Outside – Turn 2
E: Outside – Turn 3
F: Inside – Turn 3
G: Outside – Turn 5
H: Outside – Turn 6
J: Inside – Turn 9
K: Inside – Turn 10 exit
L: Inside – Turn 11
M: Outside – Turn 12
N: Inside – Turn 13
Getting to the circuit
See my travel guide for the Albert Park F1 circuit which includes information on parking and using Melbourne’s free trams, plus other transport methods.
Entrance gates and opening times
Check out my guide on the Albert Park entrance gates & opening times for more info and details.
Fan Zones and precincts
There’s a huge amount to see and do off the track at the Melbourne F1 race. Your experiences aren’t just limited to watching the cars on the circuit, there’s lots to do to keep the whole family occupied.
The different entertainment areas are split in to precincts dotted around the site:
- Fan Zone
- Legends Lane
- M Lane
- Motorsport Central
- The Green
Below is more info on what’s on in each of these areas this year.
Fan Zone
Includes:
- Melbourne Walk – best place to get close to F1 drivers and team members as they enter / leave
- Fan Forum Stage – Formula 1 driver (past and present) interviews and live entertainment
- Porsche Carrera Cup paddock
Legends Lane
Includes:
- Tech Hub
- Driving simulators
- Shannons historic race car displays
- Pit stop challenge
- Historic F1 info and memorabilia
M Lane
Includes:
- Main Stage (where the after-dark music concerts will be held)
- Fan pit stop
Motorsport Central
Includes:
- FIA Formula 2 paddock
- FIA Formula 3 paddock
- V8 Supercars paddock
The Green
Includes:
- Family zone
- Racing simulators
- Stunt shows
Getting around the venue
Use the Aus GP interactive map to search and find everything you need during the race weekend.
You can (and should) also download the race guide app to help you navigate when at the track.
There’s a lot of walking to be done at the Australian Grand Prix, especially when you’re scouting out your favourite view points. So make sure you wear some comfortable shoes and drink lots of water (more on that below).
One thing a lot of fans miss is the floating bridge, shown above and below, that goes across Albert Park lake and joins two sides of the track.
This can literally save you hours of walking around the circuit, and is a great way to get from one side of the track to the other quickly.
Food and drink
There’s a huge number of food and drinks venues around the circuit. You’ll never be far from one and there’s a decent variety of food to buy.
But they are very expensive and the line ups can get pretty long, especially in between the F1 sessions. Queuing for 30 minutes just to get served is totally normally.
So definitely bring your own food and snacks to keep you going. You can’t bring your own alcohol, but any drinks you do bring must be sealed.
Water
There’s a number of water refill stations dotted around the circuit, so you can bring your own refillable water bottle.
Unfortunately there’s never quite enough of these, so bring your own stock of extra sealed water bottles to begin with is a good idea.
Commentary
98.5 FM is the frequency you need to listen to the live race commentary.
You can find this on your phone, but should the internet be slow then bringing a portable radio that you can plug headphones in to is a great backup.
What to wear
See my full guide on what to wear to the Australian Formula 1 for tips on staying comfortable, looking good and obeying the dress code.
What to bring to Melbourne
Here’s a list of things I’d recommend consider bringing to the Formula 1 in Melbourne:
General
- Tickets – easily available on your phone via Ticketmaster app or phone’s electronic wallet
- Money – cash, cards, contactless all worth bringing
- Rucksack
Weather protection
- Sun cream (even if it’s not scorching hot it helps stop wind burn)
- UV protection lip balm (stops your lips from getting wind burnt)
- Sun hat
- Sun glasses
- A lightweight foldable poncho just in case it rains. One that’s big enough to cover your rucksack is worthwhile.
- Small foldable umbrella
- Warm clothes (multiple light layers you can add / remove are best)
- Windproof clothes
- Running trainers or other comfortable shoes you’re happy to walk far in. If it looks wet, waterproof hiking boots are a good idea.
Electronics
- Fully charged phone
- Portable FM radio tuned in to 98.5FM for the live commentary. One that headphones can plug in to is ideal.
- Pay for F1 TV for the weekend, download the app, so you can watch / listen to live coverage and commentary (signal can be patchy however)
- In ear headphones to connect to your phone / radio
- Noise-cancelling over-ear headphones to go over the in-ear headphones from the radio helps to cancel out the noise of the cars
- Download the Aus GP apps for maps / circuit info / live schedules (see Getting Around section above)
- Battery pack / power bank
- Still camera with zoom lens
- Spare camera battery
- Spare memory cards
Spectating
- Folding camping chair(s) / stools – essential for Park Pass
- Ear plugs or ear defenders, especially for young children
- Small pair of binoculars
- Picnic rug or something else waterproof to put on the ground
- Cushion (just useful on grandstand seats)
- Pushchair for young children
Food / drink
- Food – you can bring your own food in to the Aus GP. There are lots of food vendors but they are expensive and queues are long,so bringing your own will be cheaper.
- Drinks – You are allowed to bring your own water and soft drinks, but not alcohol. No glass bottles. There are bars dotted around the event that will be selling alcohol.
- Cooler pag / polystyrene esky (hard-cased ones are not allowed)
- Bag for your rubbish
- Tissues or wet wipes
Grandstand ticket options
If you’ve decided you want the comfort and security of reserved seating then grandstand tickets might be for you.
Check out my spectating guides to each of the grandstands at Albert Park Grand Prix circuit:
This is hugely helpful Alex, thanks so much for laying this out in such detail. Footage from each corner is absolutely gold! First time headed to Melbourne F1 in many years and with a limited window I don’t want to waste time.
Glad it was useful! Hopefully you’ll have a great weekend. And please feel free to comment again (or drop me and email) with any other feedback / info after the race that may be useful for next year?
Thanks Alex! This guide is gold and I’m sure it will help a lot with my trip to Melbourne!
Great stuff, have a great trip!