Formula 1 has announced an overall attendance of 452,055 at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix – the biggest 4-day attendance figure in the event’s history at Albert Park.
The 2024 Australian Grand Prix attracted a total attendance of 452,055 over the four-day race weekend. It’s the largest total attendance in the Melbourne event’s history, with an increase of just over 7,000 on 2023’s previous record-setting figure of 444,631.
Melbourne’s race is yet to surpass the record Australian Grand Prix crowd. For the final Australian Grand Prix weekend to be held at Adelaide, in 1995, the four-day attendance figure was 520,000. It remains the biggest ever weekend attendance figure in Formula 1 history.
Verstappen’s Winning Streak Ends at 2024 Australian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen’s nine-race winning streak came to an end at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix, from which the Red Bull driver retired early on with a brake failure. It paved the way for a 1-2 finish for Ferrari.
Carlos Sainz, who underwent surgery for appendicitis just over two weeks ago, took the third win of his career. He led home team-mate Charles Leclerc in the team’s first 1-2 result since the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix and their first 1-2 in Australia in 20 years.
The 2024 Australian Grand Prix was the first race to feature two Australian drivers in over a decade. Oscar Piastri, who picked up the first points of his Formula 1 career at Albert Park in 2023, ran within the podium positions for part of the race and finished fourth, equalling the best-ever result for an Australian driver at the Australian Grand Prix during its time on the F1 calendar. Piastri’s team-mate Lando Norris finished just ahead of him on the podium.
Daniel Ricciardo, one of three Australian drivers – along with Piastri and Mark Webber – to have finished in the top four at their home Grand Prix, had a quieter afternoon. Starting 18th and last on the grid, he gained six positions over the course of the race to finish 12th.
Australia’s Record-Breaking 2024 Attendance
In 2023, with 444,000 attendees, the Australian Grand Prix finished the season as the second-best attended race weekend of the year, behind only the British Grand Prix. The Silverstone race attracted a sell-out crowd of 480,00 over its 4-day weekend.
This year’s figure – 452,055 – is the largest in Melbourne’s history, with record-setting numbers seen on each day across the 2024 Australian Grand Prix weekend.
The 4-day 2024 Australian Grand Prix weekend began with action from the Porsche Carrera Cup and the ever-popular Supercars series. Over 65,000 attended Albert Park on Thursday alone – a figure which has increased by around 4,000 compared to its 2023 counterpart (60,832). It was the third best-attended Thursday in the Melbourne circuit’s history.
The first day of F1 practice on Friday attracted a total attendance of 124,113 – a record breaking figure for Friday at the track, with Sky Sports F1 reporting that this was the first sold-out Friday in Albert Park’s 27-race history. The Friday figure was up by just over 1,000 on the 2023 Friday number.
The figures continued to grow on Saturday and Sunday. 130,806 witnessed Max Verstappen secure the 35th pole position of his career on Saturday, while race day saw 132,106 people pass through the circuit gates. The race day attendance is up by around 1,000 on 2023. The 1996 Australian Grand Prix – where 154,000 allegedly attended on race day – remains the biggest race day crowd in Albert Park’s history.
The calculation of Australian Grand Prix attendance figures has long been a point of contention, with many detractors considering the figures to be gross overestimates. In addition to ticket-holding fans trackside, some races also include competitors and event staff in their attendance figures, which can positively boost the total attendance figures by thousands.
As with all Formula 1 races, weekend attendance is calculated by accumulating the number of people in attendance on each day of the weekend. If a fan attends all four days of the race weekend, they are counted four times.
Last year it was reported that 37% of 2023 Australian Grand Prix attendees were first-time visitors to the event. In the first race under the leadership of new Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO Travis Auld, fans were not permitted onto the track to celebrate after the race. The decision was made in January 2024 following an early track breach in 2023.
