A Day at the Grand Prix

Last weekend we took the kids to the Grand Prix. Like a lot of new fans, Formula 1 is a sport (sport?!) that I had zero interest in prior to the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive. Andy used to watch the Grand Prix races regularly when we lived in England, and I thought it was the stupidest thing ever. Apart from Lewis Hamilton, I knew nothing about the drivers, and I would have struggled to name one of the car brands that has a team. Ok, I probably could have guessed Ferrari... but Red Bull? A sports drink has a car racing team? It was all pretty foreign to me. But watching Drive to Survive has given me a bit more insight into how Formula 1 works, and more importantly has let me get to know the people behind each team. The drivers, of course, but also the Team Principals, who are the top bosses of each F1 team. One of them is even married to a former Spice Girl!

So here's what I've learned about F1 since watching Drive to Survive. You can skip this part if you already know about it, or if you want to watch a very funny take on Formula 1 you can watch this Jimmy Rees video, though this might only be funny to you if you live in Australia. Ok, so there are 10 teams in Formula 1, and each team has two cars/drivers. I definitely would have assumed that the races are all down to how good the drivers are, but no, this is not the case. The cars makes a huuuuuuuge difference - according to Daniel Ricciardo on this podcast, it's about 70% car and 30% driver. And what makes the cars better? Money. The top teams have way more money to spend on their cars, therefore their cars are faster. Simple and inequitable. But that's how it is. What it means is that some teams are really aiming for 4th or 5th place, and once you know that it makes it exciting even if the top teams always dominate. The two drivers on each team are called teammates even though they are the biggest rivals. You can really see who the better driver is as they are driving the same car... so everyone wants to beat their teammate. There are Grand Prix circuits all around the world and they race about every other weekend from March until November. Melbourne used to be the first race of the season, until 2020 when the race was cancelled hours before it was meant to begin due to Covid. And that's about all you need to know about Formula 1. Or pretty much all I know about it, haha.

You'll be surprised to know that last weekend was actually not my first Grand Prix. Andy and I went back in 2013, when we'd first arrived in Melbourne. I had ZERO interest in Formula 1 at that point, and the highlights for me were the fighter jet and Qantas plane flyovers. (Neither of which happened this year, I think they are trying to make the Grand Prix more environmentally sustainable. Plus I read that they don't want any more military displays as they can be too political in some countries.) In 2013 it was also cold and rainy on race weekend, weather conditions which usually make a more interesting race, but less fun to watch in. 

This year we had beautiful, sunny weather. The race was sold out, with record numbers of fans attending over the four-day weekend. The Grand Prix has been cancelled in Melbourne for the past two years so I think many people were happy for it's return this year. 

We left the house around 8am Sunday morning in order to grab a parking spot along the Yarra River, on the north side of the Botanical Gardens. This was as close as we could get to Albert Park to park the car all day (for free!). I love revisiting this area of Melbourne, and I sometimes can't believe that we lived in this area for our first 16 months in Australia. It was such a fantastic spot. We used to run along the Yarra and around the Botanical Gardens, a route called The Tan, on a regular basis. Weren't we lucky?!

We walked through the gardens with the kids which was lovely and peaceful so early on a Sunday morning. The actual race wasn't until 3pm, so we were not in a huge rush to get to Albert Park just yet. We had brunch on the other side of the Botanical Gardens, at one of the fancy South Yarra cafés on Domain Road. It was not a very kid friendly café however, and we had to manage Ollie's disappointed meltdown when his babycino did not arrive with a marshmallow. What a travesty!

After brunch we ventured to a nice bakery to get some pastries and more coffees so that we were properly fuelled for the rest of the walk to Albert Park. And boy did we need it! The rest of the walk was looooong... we didn't know where the entrance to the Grand Prix was and ended up walking for what seemed like hours to a gate near the south end of Albert Park. But kuddos to the kids, who by this point had already walked about 5 or 6 km.

We entered the grounds of the race just before noon, and in time for the Supercars race. The kids had their earmuffs on, and got their first taste of a car speeding around the race track. They were pretty impressed!

After that race we walked around the lake, checking out a Red Bull car on the way.

Next we stopped for ice creams and then gin cocktails for Andy and me. While sipping our cocktails we managed to nab a spot to put out our picnic blanket and watch the Formula 1 drives parade from a big screen. Ollie was quite tired at this point so we tried to encourage him to lie down. Which worked for a bit, but he kept getting disturbed by his big sister, who did not want to nap!

By this time it was getting quite hot - a cloudless sky and 27 degrees in Melbourne can feel pretty warm in the sun. We found a shady place to chill out in for a while and watched the RAAF aerial display overhead. I don't know why this is ok but the fighter jet is not... but who I am to decide what is sustainable and what is not when it comes to air shows. Anyway, it was pretty entertaining for the kids (and us!)

And then, more walking... it's a big lake. But what a beautiful day it was!

And finally, it was time for the race! For context, here is a map of the track in Melbourne:

Photo credit: https://www.speedcafe.com/2022/04/05/map-changes-to-albert-park-grand-prix-circuit/

We entered at Gate 8, in the Grampians precinct. (Side note: I love how each area was given a name of a region of Victoria.) We then walked over the bridge on the lake and had our cocktails in the Great Ocean Road precinct, on the inside of the track. We then walked to the Melbourne precinct, and watched the F1 race from the inside of the track just before turn 1. In this spot we were able to see the cars zooming past and having to slow down to take the turn. We got to see some exciting overtaking in this spot and had a very clear view. In reality, it's pretty hard to actually follow a race when you're at the Grand Prix, instead of just watching on TV. You need to also be listening to a broadcaster and/or be checking positions on the F1 app or similar. But still, the atmosphere was great and it's pretty thrilling to see cars whipping by at 300km/h or more. 

We didn't stay for the entire race, but made it for the first hour before making our way to a gate to try and beat the crowd out. Both kids were pretty tired by this point, and Ollie in particular was just lying down in the grass, despite wearing his huge earmuffs and the noise of the cars. We still had another very long walk back to the car, although we only made in halfway before I stopped with the kids and Andy ran on ahead to get the car and drive back to us. By this time the sun was starting to set, and we had a gorgeous walk past the Shrine of Remembrance in the early evening light. All in all a very tiring but fun day, and it was great to see the city back, alive and pumping, after all the time we spent in lockdown last year.