The cost of attending one Formula 1 race is pricey enough, but is it possible to attend all 24 grands prix this season on a £20,000 budget? One British fan thinks it can be done.
Brandon Burgess, 29, set off on his epic journey of five continents and 21 countries in March and hopes to show fans it is achievable to go and enjoy the sport many consider a rich man’s game.
“It’s been my ultimate dream,” Burgess, who has been an F1 fan since the age of two, tells My Newspaper Sport at the Dutch Grand Prix.
“I weighed it up for a good week, and obviously it’s such a commitment. But then I thought ‘if I don’t do it now, then I’ll never do it’.
“I’m young, I don’t really have many responsibilities. I’m like ‘if I don’t do it this year, then maybe life changes and moves on’.”
Another condition of Burgess’ challenge is he is only using his annual 28 days’ leave from his job working for a tech company in London.
Following the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest before the summer break, which was round 14, Burgees’ total left in the pot was £9,221, with 12 days of his annual holiday time remaining.
The triple-headers and back-to-back grands prix are fuelled by pure adrenaline, he says, and the next race on the list is just around the corner in Italy at Monza in a week’s time.
With a limited budget, Burgess is varying how many days he is attending at each event. In the Netherlands, for example, he has opted for two days of track action, taking in Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s race.
The British Grand Prix in July gave the pot some much-needed respite. “For Silverstone, I was able to stay in my flat in London, get the train to Milton Keynes and shuttle from there,” he says.
Youth is on Burgess’ side and he is using his savings to fund his travels. So far, he is in the black and on track to complete his mission.
“It’s going to be very tight,” he adds with caution, although the European leg of the campaign has greatly helped.
“So, there’s two more Europe races (including Zandvoort), and then eight flyaways, and that’s what’s going to hurt the most. So, I’m trying to build a bit of a gap for the flyaways again.”
With, among others, Singapore, Mexico, Brazil and Las Vegas still to come before the finale in Abu Dhabi in December, this is a tense time for the budget spreadsheet.
“In terms of the money, I’ve already done rough calculations based on what I’ve booked. But I don’t really know transport and food yet. It will be very close to £20K – maybe just under, maybe just over,” says Burgess.
“I want to do it for the £20K but if I have to, I have got some spare funds just in case. So my aim is I will make it to all the races, but hopefully it’s under that mark.”
At Zandvoort this weekend, Burgess has clawed money back by staying in a capsule hostel for the first time. In Austria, his girlfriend, Ellie, attending with him turned out to be a bonus. “We split the accommodation costs in half. So I did count it as half, not the whole cost,” he adds.
For the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka in April, however, he had to be in and out to keep costs to a minimum.
“The Australian Grand Prix and China are linked together, which helped,” he says. “But Japan was literally a long weekend in Japan. So, 20 hours of travel, I was in Japan for three days, and then 20 hours of travel back. That’s probably the most crazy one so far.”
Burgess is documenting the ups and downs of life on the road via hisInstagram account,,externalwhich has meant a bed for the night does pop up from time to time.
“I have had some offers, but I’m trying to stick to it as if people didn’t know about my challenge, to try and keep it as authentic as possible,” he says. He has also become the go-to man for travel tips among other fans.
With no days off in lieu available at his job to add to his leave tally, Burgess also has to be strategic about juggling his professional life.
He did his paid hours at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix thanks to a work from abroad scheme, and opted not to fly home between Bahrain and Saudi in April to reduce costs. He is also grateful that the hybrid nature of his job has allowed him to work from home on some Mondays after a tiring journey back from a race.
His challenge caught the eye of Aston Martin, who invited Burgess to a garage and paddock tour in Saudi. “It was a dream come true,” he says. Another highlight is connecting with other fans, especially as a solo traveller.
“You’ve basically got friends all over the globe,” says Burgess. “And some of the people I’ve met I’ve actually kept in contact with. So some of the people I’ve met in Australia at the start of the season, I still chat to now, which is really nice.”
In terms of his hopes for what happens on track, a Ferrari grand prix win, especially one for Charles Leclerc, would be a bonus: “Growing up, I was a massive Michael Schumacher fan, so that’s the reason why I’ve stuck with Ferrari since the Schumacher days,” he says.
“If I go to every race and I don’t see one Ferrari win, that’s going to be quite unbelievable.”
