This morning I had the overwhelmingly unique opportunity to walk on my own through Melbourne’s F1 Exhibition which is due to open this Saturday and run through until just after the 2026 Australian Formula One Grand Prix.

The F1 Exhibition is a showcase of F1 that has travelled through various European cities, and is appearing for the first time in the Southern Hemisphere and I can show you some of the many things you’ll see if you get yourself tickets to this amazing display.

Inside one large hall of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center (It’s down the DFO end for those who know the venue (not the Crown Casino end) – the Exhibition is a walkway through the sport of F1 – a path that starts with iconic F1 cars, takes you through some amazing displays of driver gear, to the design of F1 and more. All in one single pathway – think of it like walking through IKEA and having to follow a path, but every step is amazing F1 displays.

It starts with Kimi Raikonnen’s 2013 Australian Grand Prix winning Lotus which sits alongside Alan Jones’ 1980 World Championship winning car, and Sir Jack Brabham’s 1966 Brabham.

Just these cars alone would be worth a look. Prices start at $64.90 for adults to get a General Admission ticket on a given day within a set timeslot (Allow 90 to 120 Minutes to see and experience it all), and $34.90 for kids.

If you want complete flexibility to pop down to ay day at any time, that’s $49.90 for kids, and $84.90 for adults, and the “Podium” package which is a flexible ticket as well as a T-Shirt, Lanyard and ticket to use the Fastest Lap simulators will set you back $129.90.

With that money shelled out, take your time, take it all in.

You’ll see trophies from olden days, magazines and programs and other memorabilia from across the decades.

And then there’s the room of Drivers. Something like 25 race suits, and 60 helmets, and not just anyone – race-worn Schumacher, Prost, Senna – these are iconic and epic to see so close.

The producers have brought a touch of Aussie F1 too with displays featuring Mark Webber and Oscar Piastri suits and helmets among the huge display.

Learn about the evolution of design through the years with a BAR Honda on display surrounded by everything from a torn down Lotus to a more recent McLaren in parts.

There’s a Red Bull from 2011 in the Webber / Vettel years, which will be a great one for a photo too.

Perhaps the most iconic part of the show is labelled “Survival”. Videos reliving the Romain Grosjean firey crash in Bahrain 2020, surrounded by the actual steering wheel, boots and gloves and one wheel and tyre from the car.

While the chassis of the car is on display at another F1 Exhibit in Europe, in Melbourne you can interact with a touchscreen 3D model of the wreck to get a real sense of what happened.

Romain’s own former F1 Performance Coach Kim Keedle told me today that Romain had himself been looking for the gloves from the crash, and only learned this week from Kim that they were in fact on display – so you can get close up with the gloves, see the damage to them that led to the burns and injuries he suffered. Remarkable to see.

There’s plenty of cool photo opportunities for the kids and family, as well as some really well done interactive displays where you can design your own helmet and take away an image via a QR code, and likewise get a photo of yourself pretending to be your favourite driver in a virtual mirror.

It’s an outstanding display, well worth a visit for any F1 fan, of any age, and any level of fandom.