Those areas operate on a first come, first served basis, and are available for all general admission ticket holders.

Fans can greet drivers, team principals and teams arriving at the arena at the Melbourne Walk, and watch interviews with them at the fan forum stage.

“The justification for me spending the $200 was because the section at the front of the fan forum stage is worth it – there’s so many people who go to them,” Hudson said.

After noticing the website did not mention dedicated areas at either the Melbourne Walk or stage, Hudson emailed organisers, who told her it was no longer a benefit offered to Access23 holders.

“They’re trying to capitalise on the popularity of [Netflix documentary series] Drive to Survive. They know that people are going to pay the extra $200 for the pre-sale,” Hudson said.

“It’s really disappointing. It’s a lot of money for nothing.”

Australian Grand Prix’s general manager for corporate affairs Haydn Lane said that, while the benefits of the program have changed, patrons now had greater options.

“The Access23 pricing structure changed from a tiered system in 2022 to an a la carte model in 2023, providing patrons the option to scale their purchase based on the individual experiences they desire,” he said.

Due to the “a la carte model”, fans must first buy the $200 ticket, known as a “base token”. That ticket includes pre-sale access to next year’s grand prix, a Thursday general admission pass (an adult ticket costs $36), and a five per cent discount on merchandise.

The token then “unlocks” additional experiences to purchase at extra expense. These experiences include a tour of the pit lane (priced at $150), or a lap around the track in a race car.

However, the majority of these experiences cannot be purchased outright – fans must bid for them in auctions.

The program drew criticism from fans when it started in 2022, as some of the experiences available to purchase had been free for GP Advantage members – a loyalty program that was scrapped in 2019.

“GP Advantage was a popular program for many years, but due to the incredible growth in demand for tickets to the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, the program, simply, was no longer sustainable,” Lane said.

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“Access23 is a new program which offers all fans the opportunity to add experiences to their tickets.”

Over the past three years, general admission tickets to the event have also increased. Between 2020 and 2023 an adult four-day general admission ticket has increased by 35 per cent.

The highest percentage increases between 2022 and 2023 for general admission were the Friday concession (68 per cent increase); Friday adult (52 per cent increase); and the four-day concession (50 per cent increase).