‘There’s a lot more zeros on the end of everything’: Travis Auld’s shift from the AFL to F1
Travis Auld admits swapping AFL politics for the global business and bargaining of F1 has been a ‘huge learning curve’. The Australian Grand Prix boss sits down with SHANNON GILL.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Travis Auld has noticed many differences in his jump from the AFL to be the CEO of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, yet the most telling may be his frequent flyer points balance.
“At the AFL we had (broadcast partner) Channel 7 next door and (sponsor) NAB across the road, and now I’ve got to jump on a plane for 20 hours if I want to go and see head office,” he laughs.
“I’ve done more international travel in the first few months than I’ve done in my whole career.”
Auld spent 25 years in the domestic bubble of the AFL, first at Essendon, then Gold Coast and ultimately at head office where he went close to getting the top job in 2023.
The move to run the Formula One Grand Prix (along with October’s Philip Island MotoGP) was the career progression he needed in August last year.
And while he says many of the principles he learned in footy can be used in his new world, the scope and breadth of stakeholders across Formula One ensures he’s learning new things every day.
“There’s parts of my 25 years in the AFL that set me up well to move into another sport and entertainment business like F1,” Auld tells CODE Sports.
“How to get a product, build a narrative around it, create an experience and commercialise it, that’s similar. But that’s about where it stops.”
Having spent so long in the AFL world, Auld was used to a kind of automation from accrued knowledge when handling issues.
“You know who to go to for something, you generally understand how the key stakeholders work with broadcasters, clubs and sponsors, you understand what’s important to them,” he says.
“So you’ve got this innate sort of ability to assess the situation and make a call really quickly.”
He readily admits he didn’t have that knowledge when he took over at the Grand Prix Corporation, so the first seven months leading up to his first Grand Prix have been like cramming for an exam.
“I’ve had to spend a good chunk of that time early on getting to know who’s who with my own staff, getting to understand how the sport works from the inside, understanding what the drivers are, understanding how the two events (MotoGP and Formula One) work, and who the key stakeholders are within both of those.”
Adjusting to how the F1 ecosystem is spread across the globe has been the biggest challenge.
“I think the biggest difference from the AFL is it’s global and so some of our biggest partners don’t reside in Australia, let alone Melbourne,” he says.
“Formula One is owned by Liberty Media out of the US and it’s run by Formula One management out of the UK. MotoGP is run by an organisation called Dorna out of Barcelona and Madrid, and so that dynamic of being a global business is probably a bigger differentiator of the sport than what I initially expected when I made the move.”
AFL club politics can be messy, but to industry veterans like Auld they’re all known. Geopolitics and diplomacy are the F1 equivalent that Auld has quickly learned.
“So there’s the politics, but there’s also different styles of operating. The Spanish are very different from the Italians. So trying to understand that, to be honest, has been the most refreshing part of the change,” he says.
“That is all unfamiliar to me, so it’s been a huge learning curve that I’ve enjoyed.”
Those new challenges were motivators for Auld in taking the role, as was the responsibility. The buck stops with the CEO and Auld understands the eyes of the world will be on ‘his’ event.
The numbers alone can be discombobulating compared to the AFL.
“You are truly on a global stage and so the broadcast numbers are quite mind blowing,” he says.
“There’s a lot more zeros on the end of everything whether it be social media, whether it be TV ratings, whether they be revenue numbers.
“Even with our crowds, we had 444,000 last year, a record, and I’m confident we’ll beat that this year. That means that on Friday, Saturday and Sunday we’ll probably have more than 130, 000 people at the event. That’s a big number.
“So the scale of the operation, the scale of the sport; it’s just at another level than what I’ve been used to.”
One topic of discussion with F1 bosses this week has been where the Melbourne Grand Prix will fit into the schedule next season. As part of its latest deal Melbourne will return as the season opener at least five times over the next thirteen years.
2025 could be one of them.
“It’s been mooted, but that doesn’t get confirmed for another month or so,” Auld says.
“I don’t mind whether we’re one or three, but every now and then being one is nice. You get to launch the season, but if that is the case then that gives us an opportunity next year to launch into a big season.”
If that does happen it will also most likely mark the debut of former world champion Lewis Hamilton in a Ferrari after his 2025 shift was confirmed in the off-season.
“Melbourne is a town full of Italians, so that could be a special opportunity,” Auld says.
“But I’m not thinking about it too much just for the minute, I’m trying to keep my eyes pretty close to the next 24 hours.”
Auld hasn’t lost that old football adage of taking it one game at a time. And as the days and hours countdown to race time he admits to some nerves for his official F1 debut.
“You’d be more worried if you weren’t nervous, I think. I like to over-prepare and focus on that last three per cent of everything to make sure that we completely nail the little things.”
“I’m at a healthy level of anxiety to make sure we do a good job of it.
It all sounds a little like that last day in September he used to be involved with.
Just on steroids.
“It’s a bit like the grand final in some ways. You’ve got one chance to get it right, and you want to get it more than right,” he says
“You want to exceed people’s expectations so they come back again next year.”
If it all goes off without a hitch only the winner will walk away happier than new boy Auld on Sunday.
Originally published as ‘There’s a lot more zeros on the end of everything’: Travis Auld’s shift from the AFL to F1
Noble reveals all: Roos collapse, Horne-Francis and picking Fagan
In the latest SACKED AFL podcast episode, David Noble relives his career in football at multiple clubs including the Crows, Bulldogs and where it all ended at the Roos. LISTEN HERE.
‘Pretty shabby’: AFL responds to burst pipe chaos at Victoria Park
Crows coach Matthew Clarke pulled no punches after a small part of Victoria Park flooded due to a leak beneath the surface on Sunday. But will it impact other upcoming games at the venue?