Aussie F1 fans erupt over ‘absolutely shameless’ price hike
Updated . First published at
F1 fans hoping to attend next year’s Australian Grand Prix will have to part with even more hard-earned to do so after confirmation of yet another price rise.
Following confirmation on Wednesday evening the 2027 event will be held across the weekend of April 1-4, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation released ticket costs before they go on sale in a fortnight.
Fans flock around the podium following the 2026 Australian Grand Prix. The Age
Prices have increased slightly across the board, but the most significant change was the announcement of a new membership offering which has effectively doubled the cost of one of the most popular grandstands in the venue.
For $750, fans can become Grandstand members, which will give them priority renewal year-on-year as well as a member welcome pack and early access to the precinct.
The $1275 Premium tier gives the above plus access to buy tickets to the premium-only Brabham stand in the inside of the first corner.
Neither include actual admission tickets themselves, which start at about $600, except in Brabham, which start at $910.
In 2025, the cheapest four-day seat in the Brabham stand cost $1045. In 2027, the tickets themselves are only $910, but after the $1275 membership cost just to get access, the cost is now $2185.
Fans not wanting to fork out a mortgage just to get tickets will still be stung. The cost of a four-day general admission ticket has increased another $40 to $425.
And there’s a membership package for that, too. For $275, an Albert Park Circuit Club membership will grant fans early access to the precinct, as well as discounts and priority renewal.
Unsurprisingly, fan reaction on social media was swift, with many claiming they have now been priced out of attending.
Since 2022 – the first Australian Grand Prix after the COVID-19 pandemic – the cost of a general admission park pass has more than doubled from $189.
Responses to the announcement on Wednesday night paint a picture of fan discontent.
“This is honestly disgusting,” F1 fan Jonny Fraser wrote on X.
“Pricing out the very fan that has built this event from years ago to what it is today. Brabham prices have nearly tripled in one year. Absolutely shameless.”
But the price increases have done little to quell fan interest in recent years. The event has broken attendance records annually since the pandemic.
In 2026, a record 483,934 fans flocked through the gates across all four days. Thursday and Friday crowds broke single-day attendance records.
It was the third-biggest weekend crowd for an F1 event in the history of the sport.
For the first time, next year's event will also feature a sprint race to be held on the Saturday.
AGPC chief executive officer Travis Auld heralded the sprint race as an “exciting addition for fans” and said the Friday and Saturday sessions would offer “more on-track action than ever before.”
“We’re also excited to launch the Albert Park Circuit Club membership program and today’s announcement brings us another step closer to next year’s event,” he said.
“We can’t wait to welcome fans back to Albert Park Circuit.”
Oscar Piastri poses for a selfie with a fan at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix. Getty Images AsiaPac
The Australian Grand Prix is expected to begin as usual on Thursday, April 1 with Supercars and Porsche Carrera Cup action, before F3, F2 and F1 action begins on Friday.
But the new sprint format will mean the usual second F1 practice session will be scrapped, replaced with sprint qualifying.
The 100km sprint race will then be held on Saturday in lieu of the usual third practice session, before grand prix qualifying as usual that evening.
Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have been announced as the season openers, before Melbourne.
However, uncertainty over the conflict in the Middle East could force F1 to move the Chinese and Japanese events from the weekends following Melbourne, to the weekends preceding Melbourne.
