Australian Grand Prix organisers under fire over new membership ‘cash grab’ for 2027 ticket sales

The Australian Grand Prix Corporation is under fire from Formula 1 fans after introducing costly memberships for 2027 and locking a popular grandstand behind the most expensive paywall.

The Melbourne event has been unveiled for April 1-4 as the third race on next year’s calendar while it will also feature an F1 sprint race for the first time.

Australia’s showpiece has exploded in popularity since returning from its COVID hiatus on the back of the Drive to Survive boom despite rising prices and increased concerns of overcrowding.

Organisers have announced new attendance records each year since 2022.

This year’s Thursday crowd figure was up 30,000 from four years ago while the Friday crowd figure was only marginally smaller than the Sunday number.

But the fight to secure tickets for 2027 has taken a turn with three tiers of memberships now offering ‘priority access’ from October 1 before other sale periods on October 2 (Amex) and October 6 (general public).

The Park Pass (general admission) membership costs $275, a Grandstand membership is $750 while a Premium membership will set fans back $1275.

Tickets are then purchased on top of the membership price: a four-day Park Pass costs $425, Grandstand seats range from $620 to $1295 and the Premium tickets cost $910 to $1090.

Notably, the Brabham Grandstand at turn 1-2 is now exclusive to Premium members.

Organisers trumpeted that members will be allowed to enter 30 minutes before the public and receive express entry at some gates throughout the day.

They also reiterated the membership program is an “additional option for fans” and confirmed “standalone tickets to the event will remain available for purchase”.

Unlike AFL memberships, however, a membership is tied to just one ticket — meaning a family or group of friends keen to guarantee they can sit together in a grandstand would each need to pay at least $425 each to do so.

And the pushback has been fierce with fans already speaking out on social media.

“So you buy a membership for $1275 and still have to pay $1000+ for a ticket? Bear in mind in a section that you could get for $825 this year… absolute money grab! If anything you should be including the ticket in the membership,” Sean Andrews wrote.