How to Attend a Formula 1 Grand Prix Without Blowing Your Budget

(Bloomberg) -- When headlines herald $11,000-a-seat dinners and million-dollar hotel packages, attending a Formula One grand prix can seem as if it requires a King Charles-sized bank account. A half-century of glamorous photographs of the world’s jet set gallivanting to races from Monaco to Montreal doesn’t help assuage that image. 

It doesn’t have to be like this. Since it bought F1 in 2017, Liberty Media has tried to make the racing series more accessible for fans in the US, especially families who want to experience it like a football game or concert. It has added circuits that use streets in urban centers rather than purpose-built tracks outside city limits; it’s introduced mini races known as sprints that run on Saturdays and provide more action.

It’s also fostered a general environment of coolness that helps attract relevant musical acts, performers and DJs to perform in the days leading up to a race to make it feel more like a party that anyone can join. 

“Formula 1 has a reputation of being elitist,” says Tyler Epp, president of the F1 Miami Grand Prix. He says he aims to make the race just as fun for those who buy the least expensive general admission ticket as for those who spend on VIP packages. “We’ve really enjoyed getting to know the person who loves cars or loves F1 and wants to bring their family and expose their kids to a new thing.”

Miami’s race on May 5 will feature general admission packages that bundle access to music, games and the racetrack so fans can choose where they want to get the most value for their money. The package includes stadium seating; trackside viewing platforms for sprint races; access to auctions and such fan-zone activities as driving simulators and art installations; and Marc Anthony singing the national anthem—all for far less than the cost of other grandstand tickets. 

The intended message seems to be that you can indeed attend a race without spending a king’s ransom. All it takes is a little foresight and creativity. 

Timing Matters 

First, familiarize yourself with the ticket structure of the race you’re attending. In Miami, the so-called $450 Campus Pass is actually a three-day general admission ticket. It provides access to the 300 level of the stadium, which looks directly down into the area where the teams congregate. It also gives trackside viewing platforms, car displays and the F1 FanZon, which includes various activities including simulators and other activations.

That’s good value compared to the grandstand seats, which start at $600 per ticket. Still, it’s expensive. At Monaco, a three-day grandstand pass costs $430; at the Italian Grand Prix, three-day passes cost as little as $115. The lesson: It pays to shop around. 

Buy tickets directly from the circuit when possible, rather than from after-market or third-party sellers. “This is the easiest way to make sure you're getting a face-value ticket and not one being resold at a higher price,” Kate Byrne, the co-host of the TwoGirls1Formula podcast that closely follows all things F1, said in an email.

The most traditional and heralded F1 event is the one held in Monaco; England’s Silverstone Circuit is a hallowed classic with a weighty price tag of roughly $6,300 for a 3-day pass and $745 for the cheapest one-day ticket. Mexico City, too, tends to be expensive: The average ticket price this year reached $783, compared to roughly $200 for the race in China. 

Sometimes, buying tickets the day you attend will be cheaper than buying in advance; prices drop when tickets aren’t selling. Last year, during the week of the final in Las Vegas the cheapest tickets for Thursday night racing were selling for $119 and Friday’s for $259, both less than half of what they’d commanded the previous month. Saturday’s main event set fans back $807, around half the listed price, according to Bloomberg reporting. 

This especially applies to less-attended European races. 

“We originally only bought race day tickets for Monza 2023, but were able to snag Saturday tickets day-of for a fraction of the original price,” says Nicole Sievers, a co-host of TwoGirls1Formula. Saturday tickets for the Italian Grand Prix start at €1,120 ($1,214).

Getting There 

Another easy way to slash spending is to stay local.  If you can, attend a race near where you live. If you reside in Dallas, for instance, the United States Grand Prix in Austin is an obvious choice, not the race in England. If you live in Los Angeles, the Las Vegas Grand Prix or even the race in Mexico City would be options. If you live in New York City; Miami is a short flight away and Montreal is even closer. Leave European races to the Euros, check which race is closest, and save thousands on travel. A round-trip economy flight from LA to London costs roughly $400, one to Baku, Azerbaijan, more than $1,100. 

Check alternate means of transportation, too. If you happen to be in Europe, the train system can be an efficient way to navigate among races in Spielberg, Austria, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and Monza, Italy. The train from NYC to Montreal takes about 12 hours and costs about $130 round-trip. Renting a car and driving, with minimal stops overnight, can also help defer costs.

Avoid the marquee hotels in each race city, such as the Hôtel de Paris in Monte Carlo or the Ritz-Carlton in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Airbnbs and budget inns will save you money; invite friends or family members to split the cost of accommodations and rental cars. 

“Look for long-term stay hotels that often have lower prices,” says Sievers. Extended-stay hotels such as these in Austin, whose rooms often have minikitchens, can help save money on two fronts.

If you’ve got steely nerves, wait until the last minute to book your hotel room. (It’s kind of like trying standby for an air flight.) If you’re game to chance it, sometimes it can pay off to wait until race week, when prices drop on unsold rooms. Last year in Las Vegas, for instance, both room rates and ticket prices slumped by more than 50% in the days before the event.  

Once You’re There   

As at airports and theme parks and sporting events, captive audiences usually invite higher food prices. It may sound obvious but pack a lunch and snacks so you won’t get hangry and find yourself paying $20 for a hot dog. Bring a reusable bottle to stay hydrated without spending on water. Many local restaurants will offer special menus, drink deals and prix fixe options for patrons during race weekend. 

You could also skip preliminary practice and qualifying rounds in favor of just attending on race day. “If you opt for a single-day ticket for race day on Sunday, you’ll get the most bang for your buck,” Byrne said. “Plus, watching qualifying on TV can be a much better viewing experience.”

While no F1 racetrack is 100% viewable from a single vantage point because courses curl and stretch (unlike Nascar‘s simple oval circuit) some offer wider and better views than others. The track in Austin, for example, is on rural ground far outside the city; from one seat in the grandstands, you can see much farther around the track than you can at the race in Jeddah, which unfurls in the heart of town next to the Red Sea, surrounded by tall hotels and gleaming yacht clubs.

The easiest way of all to save money—and maybe the most controversial—is to skip the race altogether. This option is not as dire as it might seem. If you attend just for preliminary or qualifying rounds, you’ll still have off-site entertainment opportunities, get a feel for the atmosphere and see cars speeding around the track. At the GP in Austin, for instance, it means the difference between spending $378 or more on a race day stub—or just $26 for a ticket to see a qualifying round.

Perhaps most importantly, don’t buy into the hype. There’s no reason to spend a premium of $57 on an “official” Valterrie Bottas hat from F1 when you can buy the same hat for $25 on Amazon. Purchase your F1 team-branded gear for less money before the race so you can wear it while you’re there. You’ll stand out as the savvy racing fan among a bunch of newbies. 

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