![\"Lara](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2fc61b2a715bd793ae5da7d733010820e13fff7e.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nYou know the type: permanently within five metres of a photographer, and possibly aware of Red Bull more as something you drink than a team that wins world championships.<\/p>\n
Their F1 knowledge could comfortably fit on the back of a Pirelli tyre, but they know precisely where the step-and-repeat wall is \u2013 and which angle works best for the \u2019gram.<\/p>\n
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Lara Worthington in Saint Laurent at Glamour on the Grid.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
So this year Auld decided to do something about it. The guest list was slashed from 800 to 450. The thinking was simple: fewer ring-ins and more people who know the difference between a pit stop and a champagne stop.<\/p>\n
For years the glitzy launch party had developed a reputation as a kind of velvet-roped sardine tin – celebrities, sponsors, influencers and other vaguely important people squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder under a haze of champagne and perfume.<\/p>\n
Not this time.<\/p>\n
The first thing I noticed when I walked into the party was space. Actual space! The crowd was thinner, the room calmer and the whole thing felt \u2013 dare I say it \u2013 glamorous again.<\/p>\n
A quick 360-degree pan of the room early in the night turned up sightings of Bec Judd, Nadia Bartel, Jacqui Felgate, power couple Andy Lee and Bec Harding and Lara Worthington. People whose fame doesn\u2019t come from their TikTok follower count.<\/p>\n
![\"Baker](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/81ba6ba0bed08d02f60a8cd82dae047cda1d66a0.jpeg\")
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Baker Boy, James Parr, Aurie Indianna and Tayla Harris enjoy the party.Credit: Eddie Jim<\/p>\n
The first couple of hours of the party unfolded on the starting grid itself \u2013 oysters and champagne served on the asphalt.<\/p>\n
Then came the music. When the grand prix launch party was at its peak, the musical acts were sublime. In 2018, there was a surprise appearance from Mya, who sung Case of the Ex (if you don\u2019t know this song we can\u2019t be friends). The next year Sneaky Sound System performed quite literally in the middle of the dance floor.<\/p>\n
I tried to recall the artists from the intervening years. But the fact that I couldn\u2019t speaks for itself.<\/p>\n
![\"Naomi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/f4e301eda18fc9e32c659cd6ef230a715c246ad5.jpeg\")
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Naomi Campbell and Ron Walker and the 2001 Australian Grand Prix.Credit: Simon Schluter<\/p>\n
This year we heard from Aussie sensation Kita Alexander, who performed her smash hit Atmosphere, featuring global DJing giant Fisher. She was excellent.<\/p>\n
Then the party moved into the lounge, where one long table in between the track and the paddock lounge was lined with what looked like an army of wine glasses \u2014 each one waiting patiently for a pour of Penfolds Grange. In most rooms that would be the centrepiece, but here it felt almost casual, like someone had simply forgotten to mention that Australia\u2019s most famous red was being handed out like mineral water.<\/p>\n
A pasta station sat improbably on the starting grid itself \u2014 because if you\u2019re going to eat carbs, you may as well do it on the exact spot where 22 Formula 1 cars will launch at 300km\/h on Sunday.<\/p>\n
![\"Andy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/5a283efb9d4adc0945dbb20e9144146aeebfaa7b.jpeg\")
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Andy Lee and Bec Harding.Credit: Eddie Jim<\/p>\n
Inside, the food had a theatrical edge. The Gilded Grill featured a live yaki-style cooking station where chefs worked through cubed wagyu, Hiramasa kingfish, bluefin tuna and Ora King salmon. Somewhere nearby, Grill Americano\u2019s tiramisu was quietly solving problems for people who had perhaps overcommitted to the champagne earlier.<\/p>\n
![\"Jacqui](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c5403ca1f4dc8c3502d95f05a3fce485d237916b.jpeg\")
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Jacqui Felgate and husband Michael.Credit: Eddie Jim<\/p>\n
More interesting, though, were the people drifting through the room.<\/p>\n
Crown Melbourne\u2019s new CEO Ed Domingo, fresh from New York and still adjusting to the Melbourne habit of discussing football within 45 seconds of meeting someone. He revealed he had already picked a side: Hawthorn. A brave choice depending on your perspective.<\/p>\n
Nearby was Luisa Dal Din, the hugely popular podcaster and radio voice, attending her first Glamour on the Grid and looking slightly amused by the whole spectacle.<\/p>\n
![\"Hairdresser](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/5f22d92f80d193cf165267ada273875262061599.jpeg\")
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Hairdresser to the stars, Joey Scandizzo, and wife, Jane. Credit: Eddie Jim<\/p>\n
But if I had to pick one thing where there was still room for improvement, it would be the gift bag. <\/p>\n
The glittery, blue eye shimmer from Mecca was a bold shade and surely not everyone\u2019s colour; certainly not this reporter. The Crown slippers looked as if they\u2019d been grabbed from the minibar cupboard. And I\u2019m not sure how much demand there is among adults for a pocket square with a car on it.<\/p>\n
For newcomers, it\u2019s a strange initiation. One moment you\u2019re chatting over oysters on the Formula 1 starting line, the next you\u2019re in the paddock lounge drinking Grange with half of Melbourne\u2019s corporate class.<\/p>\n
Loading<\/p>\n
So if the question is whether glamour was back on the grid? The answer is yes.<\/p>\n
So much so, that, with apologies to The Social Network, my advice would be drop \u201cthe grid\u201d. Just call it Glamour. It\u2019s cleaner.<\/p>\n