Trackside at Albert Park – 2026 Australian Grand Prix

Learn more about attending the 2026 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park. Entry, F1 schedule, support categories and trackside activities

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The 2026 Australian Grand Prix is scheduled for March 5-8

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After being absent from the calendar for two years during the pandemic, attendances have surged at the Australian Grand Prix in recent years. Another record 4-day crowd of 465,498 fans attended the 2025 Australian Grand Prix.

Albert Park Access & Orientation

Eight gates provide access to the track for fans throughout the weekend. All gates are free to enter for all ticket holders with the exception of Gate 1, where you need a grandstand ticket to enter. Confusingly, gates are numbered 1 to 5 and 8 to 10 (there are no gates 6 and 7) – see map below. Most gates are located close to public transport and the majority of trams heading to the circuit on race weekend are free.

You are not allowed to bring alcohol into the circuit. Glass bottles and containers are also prohibited and your bag will be searched. Non-alcoholic drinks in plastic bottles can only be brought into the circuit if they are unopened. General Admission ticket holders are also allowed to bring folding chairs and stools into the circuit. Check the full list of prohibited items here in the Attendance Conditions (Page 6, Point 6). Don’t be in a hurry to leave the circuit at the end of each day, particularly on Saturday and Sunday, as there can be big queues to leave via popular gates, as well as heavily congested public transport. Getting There & Around has more information on how to get to the circuit.

Gate Opening Hours

Thursday: 09:30-19:30

Friday: 08:30-19:30

Saturday: 08:30-19:30

Sunday: 08:30-19:00

After Dark Gate Hours (TBC for 2026): For fans attending the Crown Lakeside Festival at the circuit over the weekend, Gates 1 & 8 will be open until 21:00 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. See below for confirmed acts and stage times.

2026 Australian Grand Prix Schedule

On-Track Schedule: Please note that Australia runs a full four-day schedule of events from Thursday to Sunday, though the F1 cars are not in action on Thursday. The full on-track timetable for the 2026 Australian Grand Prix has been confirmed and is listed below.

Support Categories: Formula 2 & Formula 3 are confirmed to race in Australia in 2026, as are Australian Supercars & Porsche Carrera Cup Australia

Pit Lane Walks: These take place for various groups of ticket holders over the weekend. F1 Experiences runs a pit lane walk for selected guests on Thursday evening. Guests in the F1 Paddock Club hospitality suite can take part in daily pit lane walks from Friday to Sunday.

Post-Race Track Invasion: Cancelled in 2024 (following issues in 2023), the post-race track invasion returned after the 2025 Australian Grand Prix. TBC for 2026.

Thursday

09:30: Gates Open

09:45-10:15: Porsche Carrera Cup – Practice Session

10:35-11:05: Supercars Championship – First Practice Session

11:35-12:05: Porsche Carrera Cup – Qualifying Session

12:25-12:55: Supercars Championship – Second Practice Session

13:35-13:55: Racing Past – Brabham Celebration

14:20-14:32: Supercars Championship – Qualifying Session Part 1

14:42-14:50: Supercars Championship – Qualifying Session Part 2

15:35-16:10: Porsche Carrera Cup – First Race (30 minutes)

16:20-16:35: Formula 1 Car Demonstration

16:55-17:40: Supercars Championship – First Race (19 laps or 40 minutes)

18:50-20:15: F1 Experiences – Pit Lane Walk, Track Tour & Trophy Photo

19:30: Gates Close (Except Gates 1, 5 & 8)

Friday

08:30: Gates Open

08:50-09:35: Formula 3 – Practice Session

10:00-10:45: Formula 2 – Practice Session

11:10-11:30: Racing Past – Brabham Celebration

11:40-11:55: F1 Car Demonstration

12:30-13:30: Formula 1 – Free Practice 1 (FP1)

14:00-14:30: Formula 3 – Qualifying Session

14:55-15:25: Formula 2 – Qualifying Session

16:00-17:00: Formula 1 – Free Practice 2 (FP2)

17:25-18:10: Supercars Championship – Second Race (19 laps or 40 minutes)

18:30-19:05: Porsche Carrera Cup – Second Race (15 laps or 30 minutes)

19:30: Gates Close (Except Gates 1, 5 & 8)

Saturday

08:30: Gates Open

09:00-09:12: Supercars Championship – Qualifying Session Part 3

09:22-09:30: Supercars Championship – Qualifying Session Part 4

11:15-12:00: Formula 3 – Sprint Race (20 laps or 40 minutes + 1 lap)

12:30-13:30: Formula 1 – Free Practice 3 (FP3)

14:10-15:00: Formula 2 – Sprint Race (23 laps or 45 minutes + 1 lap)

15:10-15:30: Racing Past – Brabham Celebration

15:40-15:55: RAAF Aerial Display

16:00-17:00: Formula 1 – Qualifying

17:35-18:15: Supercars Championship – Third Race (14 laps or 30 minutes)

18:40-19:15: Porsche Carrera Cup – Second Race (15 laps or 30 minutes)

19:35-20:35: F1 Experiences – Champions Club Grid Walk & Trophy Photo

19:30: Gates Close (Except Gates 1, 5 & 8)

Sunday

08:30: Gates Open

08:50-09:40: Formula 3 – Feature Race (23 laps or 45 minutes + 1 lap)

10:10-10:45: Supercars Championship – Fourth Race (14 laps or 30 minutes)

11:25-12:30: Formula 2 – Feature Race (33 laps or 60 minutes + 1 lap)

13:00-13:30: Formula 1 Drivers’ Parade

14:46-14:48: National Anthem

15:00-17:00: Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix 2026 (58 laps or 2 hours)

19:00: Gates Close (Except Gates 1, 5 & 8)

Trackside at Albert Park

There are always plenty of activities in Australia to keep you busy when the F1 cars are not on the track. At various times throughout the weekend, the action is in the air as the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) roulettes do their thing in the skies above the circuit. The RAAF F/A18 jet also makes several very loud passes over the circuit during the weekend. Aside from the support racing categories already mentioned, below is a selection of other trackside action to expect at Albert Park. For 2025, race organisers introduced four new precincts:

Melbourne Junction: The home of food and hospitality, Melbourne Junction showcases the best of the city. Head to the MoVida pop-up restaurant for tasty treats and collect your favourite team’s merch in the merchandise superstore. Daniel Ricciardo’s Wine Bar is also here! Melbourne Junction is also home to the Melbourne Walk, of which you can find more details below.

Lakeside: Home to the Crown Lakeside Festival, where the three nights of headline musical performances take place (more on acts and timings below!). This is also where you’ll find the popular Fan Forum, featuring drivers being interviewed on stage (timings below). The Amex Lakeside Rooftop – a free upgrade for American Express cardholders – is also located in this precinct, as are Quad Lock’s OP Zone and the Heineken Silver Beer Garden.

Pit Stop Park: Fun for all the family, this fan zone is aimed at families and schools. See the all-new Innovation Hub and attend the Albert Park Motor Fest

Motorsport Straight: Unrivalled access to the paddocks for Supercars and Porsche Carrera Cup support races. The Supercars podium is also located here. Within this precinct, you can get up close to historic machinery, as F1’s 75th anniversary is celebrated in style. There’ll also be a selection of 1950s racing machinery in the Racing Past display. The Amex Fan Experience is located in this precinct.

Crown Lakeside Festival: Trackside Concerts at Albert Park

Headline performers and schedules have not yet been announced for the Crown Lakeside Festival at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix. 2025 details are retained below for information purposes.

A number of acts will perform as part of the Crown Lakeside Festival on the Main Stage at Albert Park from Friday to Sunday during the 2025 Australian Grand Prix weekend. Fatboy Slim is the post-race headline act on Sunday night. Other performers include Tones and I, Baker Boy, Spiderbait and The Living End. Concerts start at 17:00 and finish around 20:30. Access is free for Australian Grand Prix ticket holders. The stage area is located on the inside of the circuit, close to the opening corners and the F1 Paddock. Check location here. View the full schedule below.

Friday

17:00-18:00: Jake Webb

18:00-19:00: Spiderbait

19:00-19:30: Jake Webb

19:30-20:30: Spiderbait

21:00: Gates 1 & 8 Close

Saturday

17:00-18:00: Emma Peters

18:15-19:00: Baker Boy

19:00-19:30: Emma Peters

19:30-20:30: Tones & I

21:00: Gates 1 & 8 Close

Sunday

17:00-18:20: Anna Lunoe

18:30-20:30: Fatboy Slim

21:00: Gates 1 & 8 Close

Fan Forum

Appearance times for the Fan Forum will not be confirmed until much closer to race week in 2026. In the meantime, details from 2025 are retained below for information purposes.

Hear from the drivers on stage in the Fan Forum. Drivers and team principals from Formula 1 and its support categories will be interviewed on stage in the Lakeside precinct over the 2025 Australian Grand Prix. The full interview schedule is below (timings are subject to change):

Thursday

15:55-16:15: Formula 2 Drivers

16:15-16:35: Formula 3 Drivers

Friday

10:25-10:35: Sauber – Nico Hulkenberg & Gabriel Bortoleto

10:35-10:45: Racing Bulls – Isack Hadjar & Yuki Tsunoda

10:45-10:55: Williams – Alex Albon & Carlos Sainz

10:55-11:05: McLaren – Oscar Piastri & Lando Norris

11:05-11:15: Aston Martin – Fernando Alonso & Lance Stroll

13:50-14:00: Christian Horner

14:30-14:40: Zak Brown

Saturday

10:15-10:25: Alpine- Pierre Gasly & Jack Doohan

10:25-10:35: Red Bull – Max Verstappen & Liam Lawson

10:35-10:45: Ferrari – Charles Leclerc & Lewis Hamilton

10:45-10:55: Mercedes – George Russell & Kimi Antonelli

10:55-11:05: Haas – Esteban Ocon & Ollie Bearman

Melbourne Walk

If you are keen on meeting the drivers in person, the Autograph stage on Thursday when the F1 drivers appear is not actually the best place as the crowds are huge. A better place to go is the Melbourne Walk, near the entrance to the Pits and Paddock Club, where the drivers enter and exit the circuit and park their cars if driving. The Melbourne Walk is now open to all ticket holders, including general admission. Such is the popularity of the Melbourne Walk nowadays, you’ll need to be one of the first through the gates in the morning (and then run!) to get first-row access and have the best chance of meeting the drivers.

Albert Park Facilities

Despite being a temporary F1 circuit, the quality of the facilities at Albert Park is very good. There are ample food and drink areas dotted around the circuit, and large numbers of toilets (mostly temporary, but some year-round) so queues are short at most times over the weekend, though race day is busy everywhere. 

As seems to be common at most F1 venues around the world, food and drink are expensive by international standards and the quality of the food on offer is generally low. Options include hamburgers, fish and chips and pizzas; most meals cost around $10-15 AUD. Alcohol is freely available around the circuit. A can of beer will set you back around $8 while soft drinks are $6. Free drinking water is available at various locations around the track, so keep your empty plastic bottles at the ready.