As the Australian Grand Prix celebrates 30 years in Melbourne this year, we asked Australian Grand Prix chief events officer Tom Mottram to give us an inside look at how the event has changed since 1996.
The biggest change has been the sport's booming popularity in recent years – spurred by Drive to Survive and the F1 movie. But what else is new? And what does it take to pull the event together? Drive asked Mottram to crunch the numbers.
More than 465,000 spectators
Last year's F1 attracted a record 465,000 people to Albert Park over the four-day event. This year, that record is set to be broken.
"We expect to surpass that again this year because we have upped our capacity on the Sunday by 3500," Mottram said. "So we now have a daily capacity of 141,000 on the Sunday, which we've sold out."
When the race moved from Adelaide to Melbourne in 1996, an impressive 401,000 fans made it to the event, however that number dropped back significantly in 1997 – just 289,000 people attended that year.
In the following years, Australian Grand Prix crowd numbers struggled to surpass 360,000. That was, until after the pandemic.
"You can certainly probably put it down to what I call pre- and post-COVID event demographics and dynamics," Mottram said.
He said when the F1 came back in 2022, it was the first major international event that was able to run at full capacity in Melbourne after pandemic restrictions. More than 419,000 people attended that year – an almost 30 per cent increase since 2019 (the 2020 event was cut short and 2021 did not go ahead).
When you gotta go, you gotta go.
"We hire almost every single toilet and amenity on the eastern seaboard of Australia," Mottram said.
That comes to roughly 1100, he said, about an 8 per cent increase from last year.
"When you do have 140-odd thousand people here in a day, it's just the stuff that you expect to work and be there."
We're all relieved.
With a diversifying fan-base, Mottram said a lot of thought has been put into the different areas punters can visit at the track.
"There is something for every fan when they do come in," he said. "We've even had to break up different subsections within motorsport enthusiasts, because you've kind of got motorsport enthusiasts to new F1 fans."
"Last year we made a conscious effort to create what we call now Motorsport Straight.
"It's all things F1 and the evolution of F1, we've got supercars and Porsche support categories out there, and a whole bunch of different kind of motorsport activities and activations."
Then there's Melbourne Junction, where you'll find local brands and restaurants, Lakeside, with the main stage, entertainment and more food, and Trackside Green on the north-west side of the track.
"And then we've got Pitstop Park, which is more for your families," Mottram said.
"So, no matter who you are rocking up to this round of the Grand Prix, from an off track offering point of view, you'll be able to get a different taste of our event that we're really proud of."
46 per cent female attendees
At last year's F1, there was almost an even split of male and female fans who came to the race, Mottram said.
"If you took that stat ten years ago, it was a lot lower," he said.
Not only were fans increasingly female, they were also increasingly younger, Mottram said.
"44 per cent of those that attended last year were aged between 16 and 34. So a young and a female demographic is a huge kind of uptick that we've seen over the last few years," he said.
"The fastest growing fan segment is that 16 to 24 year old female demographic ... so the sport itself has obviously grown a lot."
Of course, today (Sunday 8 March) is International Women's Day, and the team behind the F1 haven't forgotten it.
"We've done a lot of fantastic work to make sure we're celebrating women in motorsport. We've just launched 'In Her Corner', which is an initiative where we're naming a corner after two different female engineers," Mottram said.
One new train station
For those who catch public transport to Albert Park, South Melbourne and surrounds each week for work, the impact of the new Metro Tunnel's ANZAC Station on the F1 won't be surprising.
Parking in the area is sparse to say the least, and though trams have done the job in previous years, Mottram said the new station nearby was a "game changer".
"Over 65 per cent of our patrons do catch public transport or ride share," he said. "Although trams are amazing and we've had a very heavy reliance on trams, a tram that can fit 200 odd people doesn't compare with a train that can fit 1300."
7000 square metres of shade
Last year, Melbourne did what it often does best (or worst). That is, be blistering hot one day, and then chuck it down with torrential rain the next.
It put the need for more under-cover areas "into the spotlight", Mottram said.
"We've now gone up 77 per cent in shade infrastructure compared with last year," he said.
"We have a 128 per cent increase in covered grandstand seats. So, it goes back to those event fundamentals and wanting to make sure that we're looking after our patrons as best possible."
As mentioned above, 2026 marks 30 years since the Australian Grand Prix moved from Adelaide – when it had been held since 1985 – to Melbourne.
"Along with Melbourne Strait, we're doing seven different branded plinths featuring all the past winners from 1996 to 2025, telling the history and the past of 30 years at racing Albert Park," Mottram said.
Melbourne is of course known for its sporting events – but it goes without saying that this city equally prides itself on its culinary and cultural prowess.
"I think we really do well in the food and beverage space ... it's a key, obviously synonymous with Melbourne."
Chin Chin, The Espy, 400 Gradi and Lune are just a handful of Melbourne's food and beverage staples offering up their delights track-side.
"I think Melburnians themselves have certain expectations when they come to major events. It's not just about the on track spectacle – that's probably just a bonus at the end of the day," Mottram said.
"We believe that really what makes the Melbourne Grand Prix is Melbourne itself and the diversity that is Melbourne."
Jemimah is Drive's Consumer Editor. She has more than a decade of editorial experience and has previously worked in property and lifestyle journalism for Domain, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and REA Group, among many other publications.
