Lights Out and Away We Go… to the 2025 Australian Grand Prix

It’s every Formula 1 fan's dream to attend a Grand Prix. The thrill of watching the fastest cars on Earth speed by in real time. The excitement of arriving at the track full of anticipation for what’s to come. Being surrounded by so many people who love the same sport. It’s an experience like no other.

And I saw it all first hand at Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, Australia last month. 

Let’s rewind a bit. How exactly did I get here?

It all started a year ago when one of my best friends encouraged me to watch F1 solely based on the idea that it would be a sport I’d like. It just so happened that the 2024 Australian Grand Prix was that weekend so I watched the race and was immediately hooked. I came into the race with very minimal knowledge of F1 but knew about some of the drivers and how Max Verstappen pretty much won every race the season before. If you remember though, Verstappen had to retire quite early in the 2024 Australian Grand Prix and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz claimed the victory with Charles Leclerc, the other Ferrari driver, taking second and McLaren’s Lando Norris rounded out the podium in P3. 

From there, it didn’t take long for me to become a full blown F1 fan. I picked my favorite driver (Norris) and team (McLaren) and watched every single race after Australia last season. And it was the most exciting season to become a new fan as we saw maiden wins, curses be broken and multiple drivers replaced at different points.

All this to say, the more races I watched and further I got into the sport, going to a Grand Prix became a must. Lucky for me, a crazy idea about attending the 2025 Australian Grand Prix with that same friend who made me an F1 fan in the first place became a reality.

And so, tickets were bought, bags were packed and I flew over 10,000 miles from New Jersey to Melbourne, Australia for the experience of a lifetime.

The Australian Grand Prix is unique because unlike other races on the F1 calendar, it’s a four day weekend instead of the usual three. On Thursday, we decided to scope out the best general admission viewing areas around the track for the upcoming F1 sessions. But along the way, we got to check out some of the other awesome things going on at Albert Park and in the city of Melbourne as a whole. That morning started off by casually passing by Liam Lawson on the way to catch the tram to the track (which is still crazy), we stopped by Daniel Ricciardo’s Enchanté pop up, saw several F1 cars on display such as Verstappen’s 2018 Red Bull and a McLaren from recent years, tried Oscar Piastri’s Grill’d burger which was worth all the hype and saw Sainz speak at a Williams event that night.

Friday was a packed day. We arrived at the track early to get a good spot at the Fan Forum Stage. The Fan Forum is something that happens at every race weekend and is basically the perfect opportunity for fans to see their favorite drivers up close. We chose to do this on Friday so we saw Kick Sauber, Visa CashApp Racing Bulls, Williams, Aston Martin and McLaren on stage. Each pair of drivers did an interview and fun activity which was really awesome to be in the crowd for. Because Piastri is from Melbourne, this was his home race so the crowd at the Fan Forum Stage for the Australian driver was unlike anything I had ever seen before. From there, it was time for Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2. There were plenty of moments over the weekend where I got chills, but two of them happened early in FP1.

Prior to the beginning of last season, the shocking news broke that Lewis Hamilton would be leaving Mercedes and joining Ferrari in 2025. With Australia being the first race on the calendar this season, I was among the first to see Hamilton in a Ferrari for the first time ever. When he came around Turn 2 and into the straight we were sitting at for FP1, the crowd erupted into cheers as he drove by in the historic red F1 car. It was impossible not to smile hearing everyone, no matter what team or driver they were rooting for, cheer for Hamilton in that moment. The same thing happened when Piastri came onto the track. Everyone cheered as he passed by as it was his home race and he’s one of two Australians on the current grid. 

No matter how many races I had watched on TV prior to attending the Australian Grand Prix, nothing prepared me for how incredible it is to see the cars zip past you at an unimaginable speed. It’s thrilling, something that I can’t even really put into words. I couldn’t get over seeing my favorite driver in person, let alone the entire grid. My jaw was constantly dropped in amazement because it was that cool and it was just free practice!

Saturday was another busy day full of racing. We checked out the Lego experience at Pit Stop Park to build our own, free mini lego F1 car which was the cutest thing ever. From there, we staked out our spot to watch FP3 and qualifying. Before the F1 action, we got to watch so many different other series on track such as Formula 2, Formula 3 and SuperCars. FP3 was another session full of the same awe and bewilderment as the cars flew past, putting in lap after lap. Qualifying was easily the coolest part of the day. It felt surreal watching the drivers go around the track trying to put their best lap in to stay in qualifying as late as possible. In Q3, Piastri crossed the line as time ran out to put himself on provisional pole which earned a huge roar for the crowd. But it lasted just a moment as Norris recorded a quicker time to take pole and everyone, including myself, also cheered for that too because getting to see my favorite driver start on pole in person felt unreal. We ended the day at Melbourne Walk and got to meet Zak Brown, McLaren’s CEO, and Franco Colapinto, who is now a reserve driver for Alpine this season as well as say hi to some really incredible people.

And then it was race day! We put on our carefully picked out race day outfits, packed our bags and headed to the track with an overflowing amount of excitement and hope. Unfortunately for us, we got to experience Melbourne’s famous “four seasons in a day” weather because almost the entire time we were at the track it was pouring rain and cold. However, that did mean we were in for a good (chaotic) race which is exactly what we got. Six drivers did not finish the race and Norris held the lead from start to finish despite Verstappen closing the gap in the last few laps. There is no way to describe how amazing it felt seeing the fastest cars on Earth whip around turns and speed past all chasing down a victory that came with a trophy.

The best moment of the whole weekend though was that somehow, someway, I got to see my favorite driver win a Grand Prix in person. My heart was racing as Norris led the field through the last lap and I was practically bouncing in anxious anticipation while waiting for him to cross the finish line. 

Seeing him win in real life was another level of happiness that felt so incredibly special. And when Norris came around for the victory lap and waved to the crowd, I think the smile was plastered on my face at that point. 

Even better, we finished the day out by getting to walk on the actual track! I still can’t believe I was walking where the race just took place, standing on the same asphalt the F1 cars were just driving on. That was one of the most unique and unforgettable moments of the whole race weekend.

All in all, attending the 2025 Australian Grand Prix was a dream come true and I now have plenty of memories from the weekend that I’ll cherish forever, including getting to see my favorite driver take home a victory. 

So until the next race… it’s lights out and away we go.

All photos courtesy of Breanna Ebisch