I'm a lifelong traveler and Formula 1 fan who's been to a number of F1 races in the last few years this is my affordable stepbystep guide to booking and attending your first Grand Prix stay tuned to get detailed advice on which race to attend the ticket to buy and where to buy it from where to stay and how to have an amazing time maximizing your experience all the while minimizing your expense [Music] if you watched F1 race broadcasts then you've dreamt of seeing it in person but races are pricey events for the Rich and Famous right well if you have the cash you can have a glamorous champagne and caviar experience but keep in mind the average F1 race is attended by hundreds of thousands of normal people most Spectators are not Beckham Brad Pit or sha watching F1 on TV gives a full survey of the action instant replay play-by-play commentary and professionally produce techr content keeps you completely informed but anyone who's attended to live sporting event or concert knows that you miss so much just by watching it on a screen with F1 the blink and you'll miss at speed the unbelievably fast breaking and acceleration the smell of burning rubber and the sound oh the sound the atmosphere of the racetrack the energy of the crowd you know what I mean if Live Events weren't amazing nobody would would go through the expense and hassle of going they just watch it for free on TV the bottom line is this if you want to affordably see a race book everything way in advance nothing gets cheaper closer to race day so first which race both in 2024 and 2025 F1 is hosting 24 races on five different continents if you live in Europe the US Eastern Canada or on the Arabian Peninsula there's a really good chance you have a grand prix with and reasonable distance of your home but is that the race you should attend well the answer is complicated the total cost of attending a race varies a lot by place this year the cheapest 3-day general admission tickets at each of the grand PRI in the US are all over $500 in Budapest Hungary the same ticket is $120 for an adult and $20 for kids a 3-day parking pass at the usgp in Texas costs over $300 in Hungary parking's free and you can probably guess which place offers cheaper accommodation food and transportation as well if you love travel every race has its own distinct atmosphere when you're not watching the race you'll explore the unique culture of the area races also feature local food vendors performers and of course local fans so which race to attend well here's a few considerations besides the cost for you to get there so the first the types of tickets and their cost with some circuits a general admission ticket gets you great views with others general admission is a really poor value some circuits have very affordable Grand stands While others are much more limited a few races offer significant discounts for kids others charge everyone as an adult second thing the type of track and how that influences accommodations and transport if it's a street circuit like Vegas Baku or Singapore you'll be staying in the city and only need a Subway or your feet if it's more rural like Spa the hungaro ring or the Red Bull Ring you'll either camp at the circuit or have long traffic filled drives to and from the track next the price level of the country hosting it different places obviously have different costs of living Vegas is where most people go to splurge so it's no surprise it's by far the most expensive race to attend so the final consideration how many people attend the race races like Baku or Bahrain are attended by under 100,000 people the entire weekend while the Australian and Canadian Grand PRI had more than double that just on race day so the busier the race the more competition there is for food lodging and transport once you've selected a race to attend which ticket type should you buy keep in mind F1 circuits are not typical Sports Arenas every circuit is different so there is a huge variety of ticket types available in the description I've listed a number of websites that I found valuable in scoping out seating options so I'm a serious f one fan so if I splurge on anything at the race it's going to be on the ticket if I'm going to be in that seat for at least least 12 to 14 hours over the course of the 3 days I want a seat I want a great track View and I want the ability to watch the race on a large TV monitor as well but hey not everyone is as passionate of a fan as me so here's the simple breakdown of ticket types general admission tickets are the cheapest option for fans looking to soak up the atmosphere you'll have access to most of the public areas of the circuit but it does not give you an assigned seat just like general admission at a concert now if you're a casual fan and don't have much money the absolute cheapest way to experience a race in person is to buy a Friday only general admission ticket and then bring your own food you'll see F1 cars zooming by during the two practice sessions and general admission areas won't be that crowded so you'll get to absorb some of the spectacle of the weekend with minimal cost crowds and hassle now I would not recommend buying general admission if you want to closely follow the race or if you're bringing kids general admission areas usually do do not have very good views and are not typically located where you can see a large video screen so you'll likely not know precisely what is happening as the race is unfolding general admission areas are always uncovered they're exposed to the weather and get absolutely packed on race day so if you choose general admission you need to be calculating and plan ahead to figure out where you want to sit before race day and then get there many hours before to secure your spot so you need to kind of ask yourself the question how much is your time worth if you're mainly interested in the venue not the event you know hanging out people watching partying seeing the performers after the events then the general admission is a perfect choice I mean verstappen's probably going to win the race anyway right but if the event is more important than the venue then please pay extra for a grandstand ticket to guarantee a good view from your own seat for the entire weekend with most grand stands big screen monitors are located in Easy View to follow the progress of the race and the leaderboard now grandstands each have their own prices places like the starting grid or by key corners for overtaking command a premium ones that are in the middle of a straight tend to be cheaper that's not to say they're a poor value tracks won't spend the time and money to put grandstands in locations where fans will be bored and the tickets will not sell generally with grandstands though you get what you pay for higher price almost always equals better location and race action and as a rule I'd say to try to buy the most expensive tickets that your budget allows now one side note if a grand stand is built at the same elevation as the track you do not want to be seated in one of the first dozen or so rows there's safety catch fencing around F1 tracks and this interferes with your sight line being further up will give you a far clearer view so what about premium seating and Hospitality well this is about affordably attending an F1 race so I'm not going to go into this there's plenty on YouTube showing the luxuries of F1 Hospitality venues and The Paddock Club Premium Hospitality varies by Circuit but it is always expensive but if you have connections and can get me complimentary access I would love to check it out and give it my review so once you've decided the race to go to and where you want to sit when can you buy the tickets now this answer is surprisingly complicated every F1 race is independently run by its own promoter so there's a lot of variability in pricing ticketing and policy depending on the race tickets sometimes go on sale almost immediately after the previous year's race ends with others tickets are released in blocks to different outlets at different times some races sell out in a matter of days where others have tickets available up to a few weeks before but with very few exceptions the race will sell out so try to decide which race you might attend well before tickets go on sale sign up for alerts from ticket vendors and the venue so you will know the moment they drop once tickets are released Buy immediately the price will not go down ticket vendors sometimes even offer early bird discounts tickets to most races are sold either by the single day or by all three days the best value assuming you can actually go to all three days is that ticket type now one note tickets May show as sold out on the official F1 website this does not mean they are sold out everywhere check the specific circuit website GP ticket shop and Motorsport tickets they all sell blocks of tickets and have varying release dates prices and availability so unless you live nearby you're going to need lodging if camping is available it'll typically be the most affordable and convenient option purpose-built race circuits are often in rural areas surrounded by fields that get converted to campgrounds on Race weekends now when you camp you're staying at the circuit so the travel time to the race is minimal Camp organizers bring in portable container modules of washrooms toilets and showers most also have popup bars and food stands as well so you don't even need to cook for yourself so I went to Austria this past summer rented a camper van in Vienna and camped at the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix the cost was about $100 US per day to rent the van and $350 for the fee to camp for four nights at a campsite with an electrical hookup so if you split that cost amongst a few friends you'll see it's actually pretty affordable now if you're attending a race in or near a city you're going to be staying at a hotel or Airbnb your top consideration should be fast and easy travel to and from the circuit expect packed roads and crowded trains so the less transport required the better if you go to a City race try to stay within walking distance of the track the events of the weekend will consume most of your days and much of your evenings so I find it's a waste to splurge on luxurious accommodations that I'll barely be out other than to sleep so here's a little expert pointer if you can free cancel book your eom accomodations the moment the dates of the Grand Prix you want to go to are announced the entire F1 schedule for 2025 was released in April 2024 so if you can't free cancel book your lodging immediately following your ticket purchase like everything else lodging will not get cheaper closer to race day and as a quick side note I booked my Airbnb for the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix in April 2024 on the precise day that the 20 25 calendar was released by F1 so getting to the Circuit so if you make the brave choice to drive yourself remember traffic will be extreme plan ahead and leave yourself plenty of extra time in fact the pain of the hours of driving between our accommodations in central Budapest and my first F1 race at the hungaro ring in 2022 is what convinced me that I should never drive myself to a race again we missed a few events while stuck in traffic getting there and we Departed the race just before the Finish to avoid being stuck getting out any race I've been to since then has either been camping at the circuit walking to the city circuit or taking public transport this allowed me to have a few beers do the post-race track Invasion watch the podium ceremony okay and soak in all the Euphoria of the race instead of being stuck in traffic but even if you take public transit or walk to the Circuit you need to add in extra time there will be huge lines for trains and buses walking will be slow due to the crowds there's going to be cues for security ticket checks and pretty much everything else as well so one last little suggestion on transport if you take a subway train or bus to and from the track make sure you buy your roundtrip ticket at departure so you don't have to line up to buy a ticket when you leave the track race days something you can't tell from watching a race broadcast on TV is that the feature race is only part of the hours of activities available over the course of the weekend circuit fan zones have loads of free entertainment ranging from concerts to driver Q&A GP weekends also include support race series like F2 F3 Porsche mobile super cup or Ferrari Challenge and this is an addition to the F1 practices qualifying sprint races and feature Race So circuits vary on what they allow to be brought in so do your research in advance on this but expect to go through a metal detector and have your bags searched at the circuit entrance most races on the F1 calendar are Day races and most seating at tracks is not covered so be prepared for the weather food at the circuit varies dramatically by race but you can expect it to usually be relatively pricey and usually not the greatest quality a super easy way to save cash and avoid the inevitable cues is just bring your own picnic and snacks in your bag anytime I go to the Circuit for a race I always bring the following in a small backpack whatever you bring try to keep it light Compact and waterproof so what's the flow then of a typical race weekend so Thursday circuits sometimes open their fan zones on Thursday even though there's no racing many also have a public pit lanane walk scheduled for Thursday pit Lane walk is super interesting it gets you on track close to the garages and you might even see an F1 celebrity if you're near the circuit when this is scheduled make every effort to do it so Friday is the first day of action and we'll usually have two F1 events free practice one and free practice to if it's a Sprint weekend this might be a little different though each of these last one hour and they typically are spaced 2 to three hours apart during the free practice the teams get a feel for their setup and the track now if you need to miss any of the three days skip Friday it's the most sparsely attended of the three days but this also makes it the best day to explore the circuit do fan Zone activities and buy any souvenir Saturday for non-s sprint races has a third 1hour long practice session followed a few hours later by the hourlong qualifying session qualifying is what draws in the bigger crowds and really starts to build the electricity so Sunday of course is the main event the feature race however there is a lot that takes place in the buildup before it begins I personally try to get arrive at the circuit at least three hours before the race begins there's a driver's parade that begins 2 hours before the race and then a whole series of events follows in the pre-race build buildup I've seen air shows low altitude flyovers even a guy flying around the track in a jetpack who incidentally crashed right in front of us dignitaries leaders and celebrities are all part of these events and if you're able to afford a ticket in the main grandstand you'll get the live view of the buildup interviews grid lineup national anthem and start even if you're not sitting in a prime place it all gets shown on video screens and the driver's parade will go around the entire Track by the time the formation lap starts the entire circuit will be buzzing then it's lights out and away we go now once the race ends Min circuits open the fencing in front of the main grand stand and the podium for the track Invasion this is well worth staying around for find out which Gates will open and then head there immediately following the checkered flag so you can get a prime position in front of the podium then walk as much of the track as you can it's a great way to close out your F1 weekend I hope this unwinds a bit of the confusion you might feel as a noob to live Formula 1 if you go high-end it can be one of the most pricey sports in the world to spectate but with the right information and a bit of advanced planning it doesn't have to be as expensive as you might think if you found this valuable a like And subscribe is sincerely appreciated don't hesitate to post your questions or comments please be sure to check out some of my other F1 related content and I'll see you at the circuit