Anthony, who attended all twenty-four Formula 1 races in 2024, tells us how he planned the trip and shares his highs and lows from an epic year of motorsport travel.
Images supplied by Anthony
Anthony Riley hails from Sydney and has been following Formula 1 since the late 1990s, when he supported Mika Häkkinen and became a McLaren fan. Anthony works in financial markets and paid for his epic trip through “savings, investments and a lot of hard work.”
What made you decide to attend every race on the 2024 Formula 1 calendar?
You only live once. I’ve been to every race on the V8 Supercars calendar several times, so thought it was time to step it up a notch.
How did you plan your trip?
I started planning in late 2023, prior to all the tickets going on sale. This helped me get the seats I wanted and also save some money. I set up a spreadsheet which I used to plan my year. This included my flight details, where I was staying, rental car information, race tickets and details of other activities I was planning in each place, plus the costs associated with everything. I made it a common practice to always travel to each city from Monday to Monday, ensuring that I could maximize the atmosphere and excitement of race week in every place.
Did you stay away the whole year or did you return to Australia between races?
My year was planned as three separate trips. The first included Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, as well as the Daytona 500 in the USA. Then I returned home for a few weeks, which coincided with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. The next leg of my trip saw me leave Australia for about six months. In between F1 races, I also attended other motorsport events all over Europe. This included the Le Mans 24 Hours, Goodwood Festival of Speed, Rally Finland, British touring cars and even a DTM race in Germany.
After the Singapore Grand Prix, I flew back to Australia for a couple of weeks while there was a gap in the F1 schedule. My final trip of the season took me to the Americas and the Middle East. With Australia being so remote from the rest of the world, it didn’t make sense to return too often during the year and spend more on airfares. I preferred to spend the money on more experiences whilst travelling.
How did you decide which tickets to buy for each race and where did you buy them?
I wanted to buy tickets in the most iconic grandstands or locations for each race, such as overlooking Eau Rouge at Spa-Francorchamps and Turn 3 at the Red Bull Ring. I booked the majority of my tickets through official sites, apart from some ‘problematic’ races such as Brazil, China and Japan. I never bought hospitality tickets, though I did attend the races in Azerbaijan and Qatar with F1 Experiences. I liked their activities, but sometimes the grandstand I wanted to sit in was not available through F1 experiences
Did you stay in hotels or Airbnbs while you were away? Did you camp at any races?
I primarily stayed in hotels and Airbnbs. More than once though, I had issues with Airbnb hosts cancelling my booking in the weeks leading up to the race, which was a real inconvenience. The only circuit where I camped was at Spa-Francorchamp. We rented a motorhome in Frankfurt and got a campsite quite close to the track, which was an amazing experience.
On race weekends, I mainly stayed in 2-4 star hotels. I was looking for the best value for money, as prices are already heavily inflated and I didn’t spend a lot of time in my room. What was important for me was convenient check in and check out times, a secure room, safe area and proximity to public transport. I actually stayed at much nicer places in between race weekends as I had more time to actually enjoy the accommodation.
Which airlines did you fly with and how did you get around on race weekends?
I use the Virgin frequent flyer program in Australia and I predominantly flew with their partners, which included ANA, United Airlines, Air Canada, and Qatar Airways. On the ground, I rented a car at several races (Imola, Miami Silverstone, Austin) but the rest of the time I used local trains and buses, as well as Uber or other ride sharing services.
Any particularly good or bad travel experiences during the year?
As I organized and booked everything myself, most of the best experiences happened when I was doing things I really liked, such as visiting automotive museums and factories, and of course meeting lots of cool and interesting people along the way.
Overall, I didn’t have a lot of bad travel experiences across the year, though I always dreaded the queues and delays leaving the circuit after the race. It could easily take 2-3 hours to get back to my hotel after some races. Plenty of taxi drivers tried to rip me off, including one guy in Turkey who made me pay for tolls that didn’t exist. I also had a few bad experiences with shady rental car companies who disclosed obscene hidden charges when I was picking up the car. I ended up cancelling those bookings, but it was still an inconvenience.
Which races did you most enjoy attending?
When it came to a great party atmosphere, Miami was a standout for me. Even though it was one of the more expensive races to attend, the Americans really know how to put on a good show and keep the fans entertained throughout the day. There was so much to see and do around the track. I’m biased here, but it was also great to see Norris win for my team, McLaren!
The atmosphere was also fantastic at Zandvoort. They had trackside DJs to get everyone excited, there was a lot of on-track action and high levels of fan participation. It just led to a really fun atmosphere. The Japanese fans at Suzuka were the friendliest. Their love and passion for Formula 1 is incredible, and it made it a pleasure to attend.
For trackside views, the best race for me was the Belgian Grand Prix. The views from the Gold 3 grandstand at the top of the hill near Eau Rouge were incredible. I definitely wasn’t a fan of the payment system at Spa, but the grandstand views (and trackside camping) made up for that.
In terms of race facilities, I would say that Yas Marina Circuit offered the best experience. The grandstands were spacious and offered really good views and plenty of amenities. The grandstands were shaded, and you had a good unobstructed view of the action even from the front rows. It was nice to not have 10-feet high fences blocking your view, which is good if you like to take photos of the cars.
Which races were the best and worst organized?
For me the best organized event was Zandvoort. The trains were non-stop after the race, meaning that even though queues were huge everyone was able to exit the venue in a decent amount of time. There was also a lot to see and do between the station and the track, and inside the circuit, the bathroom and food situation was very well sorted! I did however like the see through bags that American events recommend as it makes the entry process much more seamless when the gates open.
I liked the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix overall, but the organization needs to be improved. There was a real lack of signage for the entry gates and the staff working at the race weren’t much help. I was particularly disappointed about the pit lane walk. No one working at the track was able to tell me where the entrance was and I ended up missing out on this experience completely.
Monza was also very poorly organized, and for me, the most overrated event on the calendar. The ticketing and bag searches when entering the track took too long, and the purchasing process for food and drink was extremely inefficient. All of this made the fan experience poor, especially considering the high cost of grandstand seats at this event.
What were the best non-F1 places you visited between races?
Two places really stood out for me, Daytona Beach in Florida and Finland. The Daytona 500 was an awesome event and I loved the cool, chilled out vibes at Daytona Beach. I also went to Finland for the World Rally Championship (WRC) during the F1 summer break and loved it there. The people are cool, the culture was interesting and attending my first WRC event couldn’t have been more different to F1.
What were your favorite and least favorite F1 cities?
Imola was fantastic. The track is right next to the town and the atmosphere after the racing finished each day was awesome. There’s beautiful Italian architecture, great food and lots of cool things happening in the piazza on race weekend.
I wouldn’t like to single out one place as my least favorite. Some cities were not as clean and safe as others. Some cities had lots of F1 events happening during race weekend, others you wouldn’t even know that F1 was happening. Places have their good and bad sides, but I’m of the opinion that you should always visit everywhere at least once.
Did you ever feel unsafe anywhere?
I wouldn’t say I felt unsafe in São Paulo, but the high concentration of police and security guards everywhere made it feel like it was an unsafe place. You definitely need to be on your guard in certain places where F1 visits, but I never felt like I was in a particularly dangerous area or situation. Petty theft is more common in places like Spain, Mexico and Brazil, especially on public transport, but I had no issues.
Which races would you most like to return to and why?
I always go to my home race in Australia, and I’ll be there again this year. I’m biased, but I think the value for money and on-track action at Albert Park is exceptional. We usually have between four and six world-class support categories, plus larger and better fan activations than most other races. Outside of Australia, I really enjoyed Japan and Belgium. I tend to prefer traditional circuits rather than street circuits, even though the latter are more easily accessible. The trackside views of the cars are just better at traditional circuits.
How much did the entire trip cost you?
For the F1 tickets, hotels and flights alone it was around $80,000 AUD ($50,000 USD). With everything else I experienced and bought, the total was well over $100,000 AUD ($62,000 USD).
Are you still planning to keep attending F1 races?
I’ll be going to the Australian Grand Prix this year, and maybe one more. But I’m also interested in attending some bucket-list motorsport events for the first time. The Pikes Peak hill climb, Indy 500, Macau Grand Prix, Rally Japan, Knoxville Nationals, and a whole bunch more are currently on my list!
What is your advice for people considering attending every race in a season?
Start planning early and know what you want to get out of the experience. Save up so you can do it right. This is subjective, but I would much rather spend more to get the race tickets I want rather than a slightly nicer hotel. Don’t expect everything to go exactly as you planned. Things will go wrong, but being as prepared as you can helps a lot. Get some comfortable, water-proof shoes and always pack a rain poncho as you never know when the weather forecast will be wrong. Live in the moment and enjoy it!
