Pole position

Just as Kiritimati Island (Christmas Island) is the first place on earth to see in each new year, so too all eyes turn to Melbourne for the start of the new Formula 1 season.

Australia’s southern capital becomes the epicentre for international motorsport’s premiere category, with legions of race fans eager to welcome back established heroes and acquaint themselves with new faces. Old rivalries rekindled and new ones ready to be born.

It’s an exciting time of firsts and for one of motorsport’s most enduring and celebrated names – Audi – this year’s Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Australian Grand Prix marked yet another milestone in a long and storied history.

Right on the main straight of the Albert Park circuit, Audi Australia unveiled its first F1 installation – also a first for the brand globally – a sleek two-story suite, providing guests with the perfect vantage point from which to enjoy the season’s opening race and signalling its intent ahead of Audi’s return to the top motorsport category in 2026.

The distinctive four-ringed logo topping the subtle, modernist building looked right at home trackside, the structure’s architecture, quintessentially Audi – clean and elegant – perfectly in keeping with the brand’s design ethos. 

With an RS 6 Avant GT and an RS Q8 performance standing ‘sentry’ at the entrance, the suite attracted enormous attention from the thousands of passers by, but only a select few got to step through the front doors into the sumptuous interior to take in an unmatched trackside experience, delivered with that trademark Audi touch.

“Our Albert Park brand activation suite provided a blueprint and very much sets the benchmark for future Audi activations,” says Audi Australia Brand Director, Jeff Mannering.

“As the season opener, all eyes were on Melbourne and on us as a brand, and I think our suite not only met but exceeded our guests’ expectations.”

The brand may not be officially on the track as a Formula 1 team until next year, but the presence of the four rings at an F1 event – the first time since Auto Union raced in Grand Prix in the 1930s – is cause for great excitement internationally.

“Our suite very much embodied the brand’s approach to everything we do and this year provided an opportunity to show what’s in store for our customers next year,” Mr Mannering said.

As you would expect, every detail was carefully considered and beautifully executed, with cream lounges and soft furnishing interspersed with bar stools and tables at both the up and downstairs bar areas. Downstairs, tables and chairs under umbrellas offered a haven from Melbourne’s changing weather on both the deck and lawn area, which the night before practice began had hosted the Australian unveiling of the all-new Audi S5 Avant and S6 e-tron models to Australia’s motoring media.

Upstairs the balcony area provided an unhindered view of the main straight and across to the pit exit, with the added view of the Melbourne city skyline rising in the distance beyond the track.

Large screens mounted strategically throughout the suite provided live action from around the track for those basking in the luxurious surrounds, while in the outside areas, the visceral thrill of the occasion was hammered home with the Formula 1 cars racing by just metres away. 

Throughout the weekend, wait staff continuously glided among the guests with drinks as well as a seemingly never ending array of everything from freshly shucked oysters with shallot vinegar, to individual Waldorf salads with poached chicken, or Wagyu beef cheeks with Paris mash and a red wine sauce. The gourmet fare provided by celebrated chef and Audi ambassador, Guillaume Brahimi, who designed the special ‘race menu’ that allowed guests to enjoy his trademark delicacies while keeping a hand free for a glass of champagne.

Indeed the bars located upstairs and downstairs served plenty of the chilled bubbles throughout the weekend along with a carefully curated selection of fine wines as well as cold beer and soft drinks, while even the most ardent coffee lovers were in heaven with baristas on hand – again, upstairs and down – to satisfy their every whim.

In and outside the suite, the excitement across the weekend was palpable. Despite Melbourne demonstrating its ‘four seasons in one day’ weather, the suite was a veritable haven for Audi’s race goers. And while some guests accepted Audi’s invitation to tour the pits and experience the frenetic activity of race day first hand, the bulk of the 250 guests each day revelled in the luxurious surrounds and seamless service.

This was the perfect illustration of how to do a Grand Prix weekend Audi style, delighting seasoned race goers or first timers alike. A seamless experience for guests from check-in to checkered flag.

With a presence on the track as well next year, Audi will once again be in the box seat for more firsts, and the Audi trackside suite at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit will again be the best vantage point from which to take in all of the action.