A Paddock Club Experience, Crowds and Chaos – Saturday At The 2023 Australian GP

The Australian GP has become the biggest sporting event in the country, drawing crowds from all over the place. Some are locals, some are from Sydney and others from London. It’s a global spectacle that puts a massive spotlight on the City of Melbourne, promoting it like nothing else. I’m in an extremely lucky position to have it 30 minutes down the road at Albert Park; a place that’s hosted the GP since 1996. I’ve been going the last few years and I have to say that this one was the craziest by far. From a Paddock Club experience with Aston Martin to crazy crowds and changeable weather, Saturday had it all.

Getting to the track and finding a spot to park was pretty straightforward, so things had started well. I made my way to the stand along with my parents and my brother, negotiating mud and tanbark on the way. The first order of the day for us was the Formula 3 race. Now for those of you who don’t know, Formula 3 is an international junior category that sits below Formula 2 and Formula 1. All the cars are built to the same specifications with 3.4 litre V6 engines producing 380 HP. The thing I noticed upon seeing them for the first time was the sound. It was a dirty and raucous noise that was louder than it had any right to be. They may not be as big or as fast as the F1’s but they still provided a decent spectacle, even if the race had a few interruptions.

After the Formula 3 race I left the stand to see what was going on behind the main straight grandstands. I knew that there were a few car displays and some other things, but the crowds prevented me from taking a good look around. I had never seen soo many people walking and crowding around absolutely everything. The grass was also rather soggy with lots of mud, which didn’t do my wheelchair any good. Anyway, I continued heading down to the tunnel near turn 1 because I wanted to make it to the infield. Now I have to explain a few things: my brother was invited to an Aston Martin “thing” where he met some of the team members and took some photos (no drivers unfortunately). One of the girls by the name Alyssa said that she’d try getting him into the F1 Paddock Club along with me. We weren’t going to pass up an opportunity like that! Steven said that he’d meet Alyssa at 12:00 but things didn’t work out that way. Rather frustratingly, the only way to get to the inside of the track was with a shuttle bus… that could only take one wheelchair. So it looked like I was going to miss out and after a heated debate, Mum went to join Steven and Dad went back to the stand so he could see Formula 1 practice. I followed dad because I too wanted to see the action. I submitted myself to the idea that I wasn’t getting into the paddock. Something that rubbed salt into the wound was seeing my brother in the Aston Martin pit box on the massive screens. Then dad got a phone call from mum – she said that dad and I could get into the pit box as well! We saw a bit of practice and then left 10 minutes before the session ended to get the shuttle bus. Eventually, we got to the entrance of the Paddock Club and met back up with mum and Steven. Steven was told to send a message when dad and I got there, but my brother couldn’t get a signal to send a message. Oh dear. Eventually the message got through and a few minutes later, Alyssa met dad and I with the VIP passes and we entered the F1 Paddock Club. No longer were we seen as ordinary folk.

Getting away from all the crowds and entering the exclusive Paddock Club was a moment of calm in an otherwise wild day. We could see crew members pushing tyre trolleys, rich people hanging out and dedicated hospitality suites for each team. Tables and chairs were neatly arranged to seat the special guests, who wined and dined on some fine cuisine. This was not an area that someone like me would ordinarily be able to experience, but thanks to my brother, I could. Walking past the team garages gave me a chance to see what things looked like behind the scenes of an F1 event. For some strange reason I didn’t feel that special, but the feeling instantly changed when dad and I got inside the Aston Martin garage with Alyssa. Walking through the green corridor like Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso do when making their way to their cars made me feel like a part of the team. As I made way to the left of the garage, I could see some bodywork and Alonso’s helmet, and then his car itself with mechanics swarming around it. The rear bodywork and the tyres were missing from the car as the crew checked over all the systems. In a game as technologically advanced as Formula 1, nothing can go unchecked or there’ll be hell to pay on track. Either that or you’ll end up copping a penalty from the FIA if something is out of spec or illegal. However the thing that really makes F1 garages special is the sheer cleanliness of them. Dad likens it to an operating theatre at a hospital, because a large amount of precision, care and hygiene is needed to do the job correctly. This metaphor definitely applies to Aston Martin, as they’ve gotten off to a fantastic start in this year’s championship. Taking a peak inside the inner sanctum of a Formula 1 team was fantastic for an avid enthusiast like myself, but that wasn’t all.

After exiting the pit box, Aston Martin’s official photographer (I think his name was Sam if I remember correctly) took a few photos of dad and I to show the team really does care about it’s fans, even if they aren’t rich. This point was further proven when we were taken over to the hospitality suite and offered something to drink. I didn’t really expect such a thing to occur and I didn’t want to be rude so I asked for some lemonade, whilst Dad asked for some cola. As we were waiting, we had a chat with Sam about the place and how it’s transformed from parkland to a fully-fledged F1 venue in a matter of months. Sam said he was a big fan of the city – a pleasing statement to hear from someone who hails from the UK. Shortly after that the drinks came out and even though I didn’t feel thirsty, I still drank some of my lemonade. We also got some cookies and some savoury chips for good measure, but I wasn’t hungry so I didn’t bother eating them. I think dad ate one of the cookies though. Anyway, we both said how thankful we were to Alyssa and the whole crew for letting us into their garage and experiencing what it was like be part of the Paddock Club. Let’s just say that Aston Martin is my favourite team now.

After some more stuffing around, Mum, Dad, Steven and I all made it back to the stand for Formula 1 qualifying. I have to say that the access to the infield was truly shocking compared to previous years. I never want to do it again. Anyway, all that pain and frustration went away once the F1 cars hit the track for a second time. Ultimate pace is the name of the game in qualifying, so the cars are pushed to their absolute limit with the fastest tyre compound and a low fuel load. Despite their size and weight relative to the cars of yesteryear, the current gen Formula 1 cars are ridiculously fast compared to everything else. They may not sound as wild as the V10’s that graced the grid for a while, but the pace is just as fast – if not faster. The format is a straight-forward 3 stage affair. In the first session, all 20 cars head out and the 5 slowest cars are eliminated. In the second session, 15 cars head out and the 5 slowest cars from that group are also eliminated. In the third session, the 10 drivers remaining battle it out for pole position. This year’s qualifying was extremely tight, with some razor-thin margins separating each of the drivers. It was easily the best qualifying session I’ve bared witness to live. Max Verstappen won the pole for the race, followed by George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. Fernando Alonso qualified 4th whilst Lance Stroll qualified 6th. Not a bad effort from the Aston Martin drivers who’ve had some strong showings so far this season.

A few minutes after F1 qualifying, the Supercars came out for their one and only race under some threatening cloud. It honestly looked as though it was going to rain, but that wasn’t the case at all. The race proved to be rather chaotic, with a lot door banging, unsafe releases from the pit lane, a stray wheel, a crash and James Courtney’s car catching fire from the front left side. Brodie Kostecki would go on to win the race. This was the first “Gen 3” race I’d seen live in person and it did not disappoint. Albert Park always delivers with the Supercars for some reason.

My experience at the Australian GP on Saturday was a wild one for many reasons. It was a day filled with happiness, anger, frustration, confusion and excitement. I saw the best and worst parts of the event, learning a lot about what NOT to do in the process. A BIG thank you goes to Aston Martin and their extraordinary team of people for letting my family and I experience the Formula 1 Paddock Club. It was fantastic. Some things may have changed for the worse but there were still a lot of positives to take from a crazy day. I’ll be coming back again next year, but I won’t go anywhere near the infield.