F1 Australian Grand Prix fans outraged by prices for merchandise and food

Would you pay $130 for a t-shirt, $140 for a backpack or $25 for a burger? F1 fans, while thrilled to have the race back in Melbourne, are furious with the price hike.

: Fans wait for the drivers to arrive

Prices for merchandise and food at Melbourne’s Grand Prix have been labelled as “outrageous” by Formula One fans.

Merchandise including Ferrari backpacks range from $140 to $150, while a Red Bull team jacket costs an eye-watering $330.

Mercedes merchandise including t-shirts also range from $130 to $150, while a jacket costs $270.

Daniel Ricao, who was lining up to buy Ferrari merchandise, said the prices were “outrageous”.

Would you pay $130 for a t-shirt?

“It’s just so expensive, you can buy these items online, but you want to buy something here as a fan for the experience,” he said.

“The Formula One definitely need to reconsider how much they’re charging.”

McLaren fans Ella and Jim, who travelled from Sydney, said they were “frustrated” by the prices.

“We love McLaren but we are not prepared to pay that much money, I would rather purchase them online,” she said.

“We are family of six and this is just so expensive.”

Fans also labelled food prices as “expensive” with items such as fish and chips and burgers costing more than $20 for a meal.

Fans can get the merchandise cheaper online

Some families told the Herald Sun they had waited in line more than 40 minutes to purchase food.

Jamie Ruggier and Frank Debono, who were in lining up for food, said the food prices were “astronomical”.

“It is expensive to pay up to $30 for a burger but I’m so grateful to be back here,” Mr Ruggier said.

Mr Debono said beer prices were also “too expensive”.

“$10 for 330ml of beer is too much. We would like prices to be cheaper,” he said.