I've been to 15 Australian Grands Prix. There is one huge change I've now noticed

It's 12.30am on Sunday, race day for the Australian Grand Prix

Qualifying finished only eight hours ago, and the gates don't open for another eight hours, but Daniel Harper and Ben Humberdross are the first fans to arrive at Albert Park.

But as Melbourne weather changes and the heavens open, the two friends remain steadfast.

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"The ground was too wet to sleep, but we were expecting that," a sleep-deprived Daniel told Wide World of Sports.

"We just stood here, waiting."

Once qualifying finished on Saturday, they both went straight home to bed. They had done the same thing Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights, and were first to arrive at the gates on Thursday and Friday mornings.

Anni Ehnbom and Gisella Sorbara weren't long behind them. They got to the track at 1.30am.

Anni had been out celebrating her 18th birthday. She went out clubbing decked out in Ferrari gear, and then went straight to the track.

"I'm running on about 10 Red Bulls," she said. She didn't say if they also contained vodka.

Oh, to be 18 again.

The gates on Sunday morning didn't open until 8.30am, but all four of these super fans had the same intention. Like thoroughbreds in the starting barriers, they were going to sprint to the Melbourne Walk to get a glimpse of their heroes.

Organisers introduced the Melbourne Walk several years ago as a way for fans to catch a glimpse of the drivers as they arrived at the track.

While these four were an extreme example, their plan in getting to the track well before dawn is far from unique.

One fan had tradies coming to her house on Saturday morning, so couldn't be among the masses camping at the gates. She posted an ad on Airtasker calling for someone to do it for her. She was offering $300, and had 17 offers within 24 hours.

Unlike footy fans, who might have a dozen chances to see their favourite player at home every year, F1 fans in Australia have only one. And unless you forked out your life savings for a grandstand seat, good spots in the GA are few and fill up quickly.

This is assuming you can even get a ticket.

The Australian Grand Prix has been completely sold out from Friday onwards the past three years.

Despite the typical Melbourne weather – Saturday was a scorcher before the rain drenched Sunday – record crowds once again flowed through the gates across the four-day event. The 2025 weekend attendance of 465,498 broke the 2024 record, which broke the 2023 record.

And they were treated to an absolute barnstormer of a race.

Even if you're not a motorsport nut, or even a sports fan in general, everyone should go to a Formula 1 race at least once in their life.

Hear me out.

It's a melting pot of different cultures, brought together by a love of sport. Unlike the footy codes, that fanatical tribalism doesn't really exist – unless you're a Ferrari fan.

Sure, people are fans of a driver or a team, but at their core, they just want to see a good car race. That's what they got on Sunday in Melbourne.

Then there's the cars themselves. They're sleek, fast, and sound fantastic. Don't come at me about the V10s. I long for them too, but these modern engines sound mean.

Then there's all the off-track stuff the Australian Grand Prix is famous four. There were concerts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There are food lanes offering something more nutritional than a hotdog and chips (but that's there too), there are technology and career expos, there's a fan zone where drivers and teams come out on stage and answer fan-submitted questions.

That's just the tip of the iceberg.

And while the stereotypical motorsport fan has a beer belly, maybe a beard and an incomplete collection of teeth, that couldn't be further from the truth.

This writer has only missed two AGPs since 2008, and a change in the demographic of fans has been hard to miss. It's one F1 has been chasing for decades – women and girls.

And it's not just wives and kids there with their dads. There were large groups of friends attending together. There was even what looked like a hens party group. Taylor Swift-inspired F1 themed friendship bracelets were for sale in the merchandise shop.

The bottom line is Formula 1 is in its halcyon days of fan engagement and retention.

You don't have to be as keen as Ben, Daniel, Anni or Gisella, but to steal an old promo slogan from my native Northern Territory, you'll never never know if you never never go.