Your summer guide to the F1 Grands Prix

With Netflix’s Drive to Survive triggering a Taylor Swift effect, an F1 weekender has been propelled from niche sporting event to cult status. Even if you can’t name all 20 drivers, the atmosphere thrills: it’s international and family-friendly, with a party spirit that transcends what team you support – particularly if you’re rooting for anyone but Max Verstappen.

The need-to-knows? Firstly, there are three ticket tiers: General Admission, which gives you track access but no seat (and the availability of grass verges with race views varies massively by circuit). Grandstand, which includes a stadium seat – choose one near a TV screen and with overhead cover. And hospitality packages, of which Paddock Club is the pole sitter for driver-spotting opps (the downside being the astronomical cost, then seeing all the celebrities who’ve wangled themselves in for free). There’s also the exciting matter of where in the world to watch. For that, we’ve narrowed down six favourites that are perfect for adding on to a summer holiday. (F)lights out, let’s go…

Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo

24-26 May
Best for: a special-occasion celebration
Nowhere breathes Formula One like glitzy Monaco. It’s where many drivers call home, and the street track is as ruthless as it is glamorous-of-backdrop. One wheel off-line will thwack an F1 car into a barrier faster than you can say, “Whose superyacht is that?” If you can, throw everything at the experience, the swanky VIP Paddock Club is right beside team motorhomes, making it almost impossible not to catch a glimpse of someone small and famous in a racing suit. 

While hotel rates can rise to mortgage-like levels, rooms with track-overlooking balconies, such as the Fairmont Monte Carlo, could substitute for race tickets. A more affordable option is to stay in Nice and come in by train. Post-track action involves seeing and being seen – ideally on a team principal’s yacht. Failing that, try Café de Paris, the famous Casino Square or La Rascasse bar. One tip: don’t look at the drink prices with a full mouth.

Montreal Grand Prix, Canada

7-9 June
Best for: easy logistics & street-party festivities
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a fabulously fan-friendly F1 venue: its setting, in the beautiful Jean-Drapeau island park, is only minutes from downtown Montreal and served by the metro. You’ll want a Grandstand Ticket (the track’s only real drawback is the almost complete absence of General Admission spots with a view), and bring a cushion – the metal stadium seats are, frankly, a pain.

After you’ve learned the fate of countryman Lance Stroll, join the post-quali migration downtown to Crescent Street: its legendary Grand Prix Festival serves up drinks, live music and a kaleidoscopic street party of fans in different-coloured team caps. Then crash (the good kind) at Renaissance Montreal Downtown Hotel, a ten-minute walk away. For a change of gear, the giant dome of Montreal Biosphère is near the circuit, or take the squeal-inducing MTL Zipline, Canada’s first urban zipline, which dangles you over the Old Port as precariously as a Ferrari pit-stop strategy.

Spanish Grand Prix, Barcelona, Spain

21-23 June
Best for: seeing sights on- and off-track
With on-track battles now much more likely – the 2023 race saw the most overtakes for a decade – you can finally expect a Barcelona race as sizzling as the weather. The circuit is in Montmeló, a 40-minute train journey from Barcelona’s Sants or Passeig de Gràcia stations, followed by a roughly half-hour walk. While not exactly G-force exertion, the reward is excellent General Admission viewing spots and the rare (and cool!) opportunity to walk the circuit post-race, reliving the crash spots and tyre burnouts.

It’s a dry circuit, meaning no alcohol can be brought in or served, a theme continued in the exceedingly sandpaper-esque trackside sandwiches, so grab nibbles in Barcelona first (Funky Bakers is a winner for sweet and savoury fuel). Fun hotels that offer train-catching convenience and a good celebratory/commiseratory cocktail include Casa Bonay, Meliá Barcelona Sarrià, Sir Victor and Hotel Seventy. As for the drivers? Over the years, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo have both been spotted at Soho House.

British Grand Prix, Silverstone, UK

4-7 July
Best for: a social get-together
West Northamptonshire may skip Monaco’s pizzazz and Miami’s weather, but universally loved Silverstone proves that neither really matters if you have an amazing racetrack with speedy straights and jaw-clenching corners, spectacular home drivers (Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and George Russell), and brilliant fans. The absence of showy accommodation creates a grassroots experience: Whittlebury Park campsite, in the grounds of Whittlebury Hall hotel, where some drivers stay, offers glamping tents, ditto Suitehuts@Silverstone, though many fans commute via train from Milton Keynes or even London.

As well as the bonus of under-16s getting free General Admission entry, the Silverstone Museum is full of racing memorabilia to geek-out over, and there’s a post-track party for every stamina level: from a pint and fish and chips at The White Horse in Silverstone village to evening concerts and even a pop-up Mahiki nightclub. Final thought: listen to your mum and pack a good coat – it’s a former airfield, so expect all the weather.

Dutch Grand Prix, Zandvoort, Netherlands

23-25 August
Best for: a high-octane beach break
One of the best races for combining F1 with a beach holiday, the Zandvoort circuit (opening image) is so close to the sea that sand often blows on track. There’s the novelty of watching action from a sand-dune pew, while the touristy beach town is well-equipped for human pitstops, supplying fresh seafood (try the Hippie Fish), caramel-stuffed stroopwafels (head to De Zeerover) and fan- and Heineken-filled beach bars, such as Bernie’s Beach Club, Mango’s Beach Bar and Club Nautique. While most of the Dutch cycle to the track (but, of course), visitors can hop on the 30-minute train from Amsterdam Central – where Radisson’s art’otel and Hotel NH Collection Barbizon Palace are perfectly placed. On arrival, soak in the unique stroll from station to track as residents of the small seaside town, dressed head-to-toe in Netherlands orange, cook celebratory BBQs in their front gardens and chant, “Max, Max, Supermax”. Expect to hear the word “Max” a lot. 

Italian Grand Prix, Monza, Italy

30 August-1 September
Best for: adding into a multi-stop trip
Famous for being terrifyingly fast and Ferrari’s home race, what’s less well-known about Monza is how green it is. Snuggled inside a 700-hectare royal park (for scale, that’s three times the size of Versailles), you could easily come here to walk your dog without even knowing an F1 race was happening inside. OK, OK, swathes of passionate Ferrari fans drenched in red and prancing-horse logos might be a clue. With cars reaching 220mph, the race is a quickie – lasting around one hour, 15 minutes – with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it blurs whizzing by.

The advantage is that you can see the race, soak up the atmosphere, ask Ferrari fans what they think about Hamilton joining the team in 2025, and be in Lake Como in time for aperitivo. Another excellent option is to catch the nine-minute train from Monza to Milan’s Milano Centrale, where Portrait Milano is the kind of chic Italian hotel that will appease anyone whose F1 knowledge starts and ends with following Charles Leclerc on Instagram.