Casting our minds back to the want-to-be forgotten year of 2020, Formula 1’s season starter in Australia was underway. Or so we thought… as we know, that year saw the cancellation of the Australian grand prix - as did the following season. Not to mention my much anticipated trip to Japan to see the Olympics (still salty). Now.. after two long years, the race returned and with new regulations to boot. I thought to myself that there was no better way to celebrate this occasion than to go see it live in the flesh.
It was early December when the tickets were made available to purchase for the general public. Most of the tickets worth anything were snatched by pre-sale folks, leaving me with pleb general admission tickets. Although, I did manage one Fangio grandstand for Free Practice.
Yay…
Though I am an avid motorsport enjoyer, I only attended a track event for the first time just a few months before. It was for the Australian Superbike Championship at the Bend and I was like a lost lamb wandering around the track (and surprisingly, the garage area). It was an absolute slog to traverse the track but there were plenty of spots to view the action decently as it wasn’t that populated. Although, in saying that, it was hard to get a picture of the whole race due to the lack of race coverage. Now… coming to a sport that’s become wildly more popular and held on the streets of a well populated city… With my lame GA ticket, I was even more uncertain of what we would be able to see come race weekend.
Months passed and time had whizzed by without notice. Everything was locked in and all that remained were the few weeks left to wait — and boy did those weeks take their sweet time.
Preface over, it was time to depart the city that once held the event and towards the city that currently holds it now. My first ever grand prix experience.
Are they saying boo or boo urns?
Day 01 Thursday – Trackside Tourists
Being Melbourne, we were able to freely travel to the circuit with ease, thanks to their extensive tram network — If only I knew that prior to paying for and loading up a new travel card.. that also expires for whatever reason.
From the tram stop, I could already hear the faint “nhhhheeeeows”. Within a few hundred metres, the distant droning became throatier as the S5000 V8s zoomed around. Upon arriving at the relatively empty gate 9, it was a not-so-thorough security check and I was officially at the 2022 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. Directly ahead of the gate was the straight after turn 10 and boy was I ever close to the track. As the S5000s rocketed past, I could feel my organs reverberate through my body.
Pictured: not the S5000s
Continuing along the circuit, I found myself hanging out at the Lauda grandstand for the majority of the day. Here, I noticed that there was a decent turnout given that there was no F1 action. That and there were a lot of school kids. Some of which were primary school aged and, from what I saw, without adult supervision…
Besides that, seeing the Supercars and Porsche Carrera Cup was pretty sweet. Definitely not as deafening as the S5000 cars but uncomfortable over prolonged periods, I found. Bursting eardrums aside, I just love how visually gorgeous those Porsches were. The sleek designs just ooze with timeless elegance.
Quick RAF show break. Cool stuff.
Supercars time
They fixed it with tape. haha Love it.
Tape!
Randomly saw smoke in the distance. Definitely a fire
By far the worst thing to showcase over the weekend was the speed comparison promotion event. A GR Yaris going up against a Porsche Taycan and a Supercar. The spectacle before my eyes was incredibly boring and lacklustre. Nothing really happened… Three cars went around a track really boringly. It just lacked any real oomph or pizzazz.
Like… add the F1 cars or something
Back for more Porsches!
Chill
Some non-racing sights dotted around the track
As the day went on and the sun set, we had traversed our way to the first corner before the first day’s activities concluded. It was in my intention to find a decent spot to view the qualification and race but that didn’t happen, soooo... best of luck to me.
Dunno why, but I never saw this again.
Reaching the end of the first day, I had a pretty good time. I was ready to see what the rest of the weekend had in store. Thank you for reading this ever slightly Porsche filled post.