There are plenty of ways to experience a Formula 1 weekend. Grandstands, hospitality suites, and late-night paddock parties if you know the right people – but cycling Albert Park at sunset, straight after a race, with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team? That’s a new one.
On the Friday evening before the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, IWC invited a small group of guests into the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team paddock for its Cycle The Track Experience. Part watch event, part motorsport immersion, and unexpectedly one of the more memorable moments of the weekend.
The night began by stepping into the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team hospitality suite, just as the distant roar of the Porsche Equity-One Carrera Cup Australia echoed across the park.
The race had just wrapped, but the energy was still hanging in the air. The crowds were still out in force, the mechanics moved with purpose, and team members darted between garages, reminding you that F1 is sometimes less like sport and more like theatre.
After switching into some kit, we were led past the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team garage as the focus shifted from Formula 1 machinery to something a little more human-powered.
Waiting for us were the n+1 Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team Urban Edition bikes, which are lightweight carbon road machines designed by Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team’s cycling division. Finished in stealthy black and loaded with race-inspired detailing, they’re about as close as you’ll get to a Formula 1 bicycle (and they turned out to be just as fast).
Seat heights went up and down, and our guide was kind enough to remind us which was the front brake and which was the back before we stood for a photo, grabbed our helmets, and rolled out of the paddock.
About a decade ago, I raced road bikes in Melbourne, and during the countless hours of training, it’s safe to say I’d done more than my fair share of Albert Park Lake laps. Even without the barriers, red and white kerbs, and branding painted on the grass, it was a circuit that always felt fast. But doing it with the track completely set up for an F1 race was something else entirely.
Combine that with a sunset and a track still warm from racing, and it quickly became one of the most unforgettable rides I’d ever done, with the circuit stretching out ahead of us like a ribbon of asphalt as the city skyline faded into gold in the distance.
Two laps don’t sound like much, but what made things more impressive was thinking about the F1 drivers attacking those same corners at nearly 300km/h.
You realise at ground level just how short the braking zones are, how fast the long sweep through Turn 11 must feel, and every straight was a reminder that in 48 hours, the fastest drivers in the world would be threading through the same course at speeds no bike computer has ever recorded.
Hanging up our helmets wasn’t the end of the night, and once we were back at the pits, we stepped into the sort of relaxed paddock evening that only happens before the real pressure of race day kicks in.
Team staff were chatting away, the light was fading, and considering the air was filled with the scream of thirty 4.0-litre naturally aspirated flat-six engines a couple of hours earlier, there was a genuine sense of calm that had descended on the paddock.
Naturally, this was still a Formula 1 weekend; champagne was poured, plates were placed in front of us, and every wrist in the room was a reminder that IWC has been involved in F1 for the best part of a decade and a half. From Big Pilot’s Watches to Ingenieur Perpetual Calendars and beyond, the table was basically a showcase of the latest and greatest from the Schaffhausen-based watchmaker.
Punctuating our meal like breaks between courses were George Russell, Kimi Antonelli, and Toto Wolff, all of whom wandered past our table on the way to their hotel. And despite it being well and truly after hours, they were more than happy to grab a photo with anyone who asked. It was a further reminder that while we’d just spent half an hour playing racing driver on bicycles, the real professionals were here for business.
For a weekend built around speed, horsepower, and noise, the most memorable moment might have been one of the quietest at the Australian Grand Prix: rolling around Albert Park at dusk, soaking it all in, with the track completely to ourselves, if only for a moment.
