Formula 1 fans left out in the cold in wild ticket scramble for Melbourne Grand Prix

The hopes of thousands of rev-heads hoping to catch a glimpse of next year’s Australian Grand Prix have come to a screaming halt, missing out in a mad scramble for wildly-popular tickets.

Angry supporters have taken to social media to vent their frustration at missing out on the event, some likening it to the ticket chaos surrounding Taylor Swift’s two Melbourne concerts.

More than 100,000 people put their name forward for early access, making it Ticketmaster’s biggest pre-registration for a sporting event in Australian history.

That comes as the sport continues to ride a wave of momentum from the hit Netflix series Drive to Survive and with the prospect of Australian drivers Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo starting on the grid.

But in the scramble for seats, many have been left out in the cold.

“I missed out AGAIN. Missed out in presale. Missed out today. Terrible system. Terrible. My son is very disappointed !!!” one fan posted.

“Same s*** different day… pre register & cant buy single grand stand ticket for 4 days. Today it’s the same all over again. Only general admin left despite signing in on 6 devices an hour early…” another said.

Tickets for the general public went on sale at 10am AWST on Tuesday. Seats in the grandstand and “parkpass” tickets were snapped up in just a couple of hours.

Saturday and Sunday features the two most heart-racing events of the sport, with qualifying and the main race hosted across the two days.

Australian Grand Prix Corporation chief executive and former AFL fixture boss Travis Auld said there was no denying the buzz being created around next year’s event.

“The record-breaking number of pre-registrations and the rate of sales demonstrates that fans are just as excited as us for next year’s Formula 1 event in Melbourne.” he said.

Although ticket allocation for race day is exhausted, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos said there are still tickets available for the action happening across F3, F2 and F1 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and urged fans to keep their eyes peeled.

Following on from the recording breaking sales and growing attended over the past two years, the Minister also expects next year’s race to be bigger than ever.

“We’ve officially declared next year’s Grand Prix as a major event, so race goers will be better protected by ticket scalpers and more fans have the best possible chance of seeing their racing idols compete for the chequered flag.” Mr Dimopouolos said.

The 2024 Australian Grand Prix will be hosted at Melbourne’s Albert Park March 21 – 24.