The Paddock Club is the pinnacle of Formula 1 luxury. It’s a place where well-heeled fans, celebrities and corporate types go to be wined and dined while soaking in the globe-trotting spectacle that is F1. It’s like a 5-star beachside resort, except instead of sand and surf, there’s a racetrack and 22 of the fastest cars and drivers on the planet fighting for victory. You’ll find former heads of state walking the halls alongside NBA all-stars, Hollywood royalty and a small army of TikTok influencers.
Few people will ever get behind the velvet rope and into an F1 Paddock Club, but we did, and we’re here to tell you all about the ultimate Formula 1 experience. Even if you’re not interested in motorsport, or don’t generally get excited about noisy cars, trust us, give the Paddock Club a shot. If you don’t love it, you don’t have a pulse.
First, A Shout Out to Pirelli
The Italian firm invited us to experience the Paddock Club at the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. And, well, how could we say no?
As the sole tire supplier for F1 since 2011, it’s Pirelli’s job to supply all 11 racing teams with the right tires each weekend and ensure optimal performance.
Sitting down for a much-deserved break during Grand Prix weekend, Dario Marrafuschi, head of Pirelli motorsports, explains 60 people from the company travel to each race. “We have here engineers for the tire structure, the material compound, the virtual simulator, and we have one engineer for every team,” he says, “and we have very good Italian food.” That’s right, Pirelli’s F1 crew travels with their own chef. (Italians really know how to live.)
More important for you and me is the fact that the new materials and testing technology Pirelli invented for F1 are already being used in the brand’s roadgoing tires.
Marrafuschi says the globe-trotting Pirelli F1 crew is like a family, living and working in very close quarters all season long. It can’t be easy, but his smile and relaxed manner certainly make it look that way. (Spoilers: ‘easy’ will become a recurring theme during our time in the F1 Paddock Club.)
Getting to the Paddock Club
From the Hotel Birks in downtown Montreal, we’re driven to the Île Notre-Dame, which is — by far — the most beautiful setting for any race on the F1 calendar. Some 360,000 fans flock to the island to see the Grand Prix, but you’d never know it judging solely by how easily we got into the VIP parking garage under the Casino. Traffic was surprisingly minimal. From the Casino parking, it was a 5-10 minute walk on a bridge over the circuit, beside the start/finish straight. If you don’t feel like walking even that far, there are water taxis to shuttle fans directly to the Paddock Club.
Shock and Awe (and Champagne)
Let’s get one thing straight: getting behind the velvet rope and into the Paddock Club does not involve anything so crude as a velvet rope. F1 is all about high-tech. So instead of velvet, guests have lanyards with keycards; everyone taps in and taps out, going through turnstiles. Security is tight, but unobtrusive.
Ascending the stairs into the Paddock Club feels special, rarified even. It’s located directly over the pit boxes, where the team mechanics put in long hours all weekend. Once through the turnstiles, staff are waiting with cold champagne and radios to tune into the live commentary. There are little shops selling F1 team gear and merch. Walk inside and it’s like entering motorsport Wonderland. There’s a bar offering espresso and drinks, surrounded by a lounge area with TVs showing the on-track action. Further along there are station after station of chefs making gourmet meals to order throughout Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Catering is by DO & CO. Service is almost frighteningly polished, thanks to a huge number of professional staff. And, of course, everything is delicious: foie gras, steak, tuna steak, bao buns, pizza, lobster, pasta, charcuterie and cheese, gelato and on and on. (I’ve never seen so many magnums of champagne in one place before.)
The Club is divided into many smaller clubs; each team has its own Paddock Club, often reserved only for invited guests, although some teams sell tickets. Big sponsors like Pirelli also have their own club-inside-the-Club. Inside are reserved tables and sofas and more TV screens. Outside, on the balcony, there’s covered stadium seating that overlooks the pit boxes and starting grid.
Formula 1 Racing at its Finest
The truth about motorsport is that it doesn’t make for easy live viewing. On any big track, spectators can only see one small section, as cars whiz past. On TV, viewers can get the whole picture of what’s going on, with live commentary. The Paddock Club gives you both, plus a chance to walk the pit lane to see the cars, drivers and mechanics up close.
For the Saturday Sprint Race and the big race on Sunday, everyone flocks to the balcony seating to watch it live. In person, the cars look so much more exotic and delicate than on TV. They’re louder too, much louder. The air vibrates as the full grid of 22 cars fires up their 1,000+ horsepower engines. Watching them all take off as the lights go out is one of the most exciting experiences in the sporting world.
After the start, I went in search of another drink (natch) and a comfortable viewing area for the TV action. What I found was even better. At one end of the Paddock Club, overlooking the track, is an array of TV screens like NASA’s Mission Control. They’re showing the live TV feed, as well as alternate camera angles, live timing and radio chatter. Three expert hosts in Paddock Club puffer vests and radio headsets provide live, interactive commentary and insight. Pull up, grab a headset, and listen in because they make the action understandable and heighten the drama of pit stop strategy, overtakes, mechanical issues and penalties. If you’ve got a question at any point, the expert hosts encourage you to ask through the mic in your headset. I’ve never been as into F1 as I was standing there on that balcony in the Paddock Club.
It helps that the Montreal race was one for the ages: a spectacular battle for the lead between Mercedes teammates George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, a fight between former champs Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, some boneheaded strategy calls from McLaren, and plenty of overtakes, near misses and expensive accidents. Judging by the rowdy crowd, everyone else was just as into it as I was.
The Pirelli team did its job flawlessly. Antonelli took home the big trophy. Hamilton and Verstappen stood on the podium together for the first time in ages. And I, along with everyone else in the Paddock Club, enjoyed an unforgettable weekend. See you there next year?
