The F1 Exhibition In Toronto

There has been a renewed casual interest in Formula 1 racing in the last few years. Most of this interest would come from the success of the Netflix show "Drive to Survive", which offers an inside look of the various F1 teams and many of the races on the F1 calendar. "Drive To Survive" does its part to amplify the drama on the track, as well as off the track, despite some accusations from detractors that Netflix and/or the producers of the show artificially manufacture this drama. The success and documentary style of "Drive to Survive" has influenced similar documentaries to show up on Netflix, covering sports such as tennis, golf, and rugby.

As a further attempt to capitalize on the new interest on Formula 1, the big bosses have created a new Formula 1 Exhibition, which is basically a travelling museum exhibit that highlights the past, present, and future of Formula 1. Basically, the exhibit gives you everything you need to know about F1 that will satisfy everyone from casual fans to proper fanatics of the sport. After much success displaying the exhibit last year in Madrid and earlier this year in Vienna, the F1 exhibition makes its North American debut in Toronto. I had the pleasure of checking out the exhibit and here are my thoughts.

Right when you enter the exhibit, you have some race simulators and the Red Bull F1 car (I believe this car is the RB19 (2023) or RB20 (2024) car). You get your headphones and your remote and you are ready to see the exhibit.

There are six areas that divide the F1 exhibition. The first area shows the history of Formula 1 up to the present day. There are various artifacts from the F1 archives, as well as some classic F1 cars from over the years, including Ayrton Senna's Lotus from 1987. There were TVs as you walk through the area (and the whole exhibit) where you point and click your remote to listen to the mini-documentary on the screen.

The second area takes you through all the technical aspects of a Formula 1 car. There are a few big touch screens where you can read detailed information on each part and piece of technology on a Formula 1 car, covering areas such as safety, aerodynamics, and the engine. There is also a Haas F1 car from 2020 for your perusal.

The third area profiles past and present drivers and their beginnings, as well as show more artifacts from race suits to helmets to driver steering wheels. I knew F1 steering wheels these days have so many buttons that control many different car settings, but the comparison to an F1 steering wheel from the 1980s is like night and day. This area also highlights some of the best duels/rivalries in the sport, as well as a wall of helmets of all different F1 drivers you can check out as well.

The fourth area is a memorial to F1 drivers and other figures who have passed away in the sport. Formula 1 is a dangerous sport (magnitudes more so in the past) and those who have fallen have also helped contribute to many of the safety features you see now in current F1 cars.

The fifth area highlights a mini-documentary of Romain Grosjean's destructive crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2020 as well as an actual piece of the wreckage from that crash. It is still a miracle that Grosjean was able to walk away from that fireball of a crash with only minor injuries.

After walking through some enlarged pictures of the Canadian Grand Prix (considering I am in Canada). I get to the last area, which is an immersive cinematic experience of many of the most notable moments and clips of Formula 1 history.

And with that, I get to the end of the exhibit where there is a gift shop selling merchandise. I want to point that the prices for all the different kinds of merchandise is criminal. A small floating pen is $15. A squeezable stress toy of a race car is $20. A KEYCHAIN OF A PIRELLI TIRE IS $40. I think the merchandise prices at the F1 Exhibition are some of the worst I have ever seen.

I paid about $52 for admission to the F1 exhibition and I went on a Monday (I believe prices are about $15 to $20 more expensive if you go on Fri/Sat/Sun). Is the Formula 1 Exhibition worth checking out with its content and price point for admission? The answer is a flat no. There are not enough things in this exhibit even close to being worth the steep admission price. However, if you are a big F1 fan, or even an F1 casual, I think you should eat the admission price and go check out this exhibit, because this exhibition will probably not come back to Toronto for a very long time.

At the end, it is up to you, but I enjoyed my time at the F1 Exhibition.

Note: The F1 Exhibition is at the Lighthouse Artspace in Toronto and it is running until July 14. You can get your tickets at f1exhibition.com/toronto/