How to make the most of your F1 Arcade Experience?

You’ve probably read about F1 Arcade, seen us on social media or even follow us on Instagram or TikTok (if not – you should!) so you have a rough idea of what you are about to embark on… but this is the important stuff: when to go the loo (as loos go – ours are up there!), what my PB is for React, how to make the most of your drivers profile and various other “stuff”.

Any other questions? Have a look through our FAQs.

Let’s start with dogs – we love dogs but Maggie the Poodle does not want to come to F1 Arcade, she would like to stay at home. Service dogs are a different story, your service dogs are welcome.

Book online

First things first, for all our venues we recommend booking your racing experience online before you come down to visit F1 Arcade. We often have space for walk-ins, but this is on a first come first serve basis each day and trust us, you do not want to miss out on racing around iconic tracks like Silverstone or Suzuka!

Bookings are only required for the racing so no need to book for food & drinks (but we cover this later on…)

Driver profile

You’ve booked? Great work.
Like any good racing driver, it’s now time for the pre-race prep! Create your driver’s profile in the Arcade Hub before coming down to the venue, it will give you a head start , there are “how to” videos to watch before your visit and, on the day, means you can just focus on racing, gaining points and earning Arcadians. Arcadians are F1 Arcade’s in-game credit system.
Find out more about the Arcade Hub and how to earn and use your Arcadians. Everyone requires a driver profile (so the game can find you!) so top tip: share these links with your entire party so you don’t miss out on valuable race time!

Arriving at F1 Arcade

The small print says get to the venue at least 15 minutes before your booking time, but realistically you should aim to get to the venue before this. 15 minutes is not enough time to make the important decisions like what cocktail you’re going to order before you go racing.

Plus fan favorites, those halloumi fries take longer than 15 minutes to order, arrive and enjoy and trust us, you don’t want to be hangry whilst racing.

Race Modes

You can find more out about our race modes here, but we’ll give you the low down of the most important bits!

In Head to Head racing, you have a small break in between races – this break is not long enough to go to the bar or the loo.

Depending if you are racing for 3 or 5 races you will be in the hot seat for between 30 – 45 minutes.

However, Team Racing you will take turns in the driver’s seat, having a break between each race to chat and socialize with your group. In team racing, everyone scores points- so don’t worry about how well you are doing, your contribution is still hyper useful! When you are not racing, you should probably cheer on your team mates, but those cocktails are calling your name...

Skill Levels

Before you race you may want to read up on our different skill levels (here), or don’t and just go big with Pro mode straight away…? Although we don’t recommend this so start with Rookie or Casual and work your way up!

Once you’ve finished racing..

You know that driver profile you set up before you raced? Log back in to see if you have earned any Arcadians. These can be redeemed against lots of different prizes, including our in-venue game – React, my top score is 48, can you beat it? There’s loads of other items and experience to be collected but you’ll have to keep an eye out on the Arcade Hub to find out what they are. These items are updated regularly.

Dine

We pride ourselves on our food menu, hangry is not a vibe. My favorite is the Aged Beef Tartare, but those flatbreads are chefs kiss.

Although to be honest, my sweet tooth is calling – and nothing says I am a Formula 1 driver more than tucking into a Chocolate Fondant with a side of vanilla ice cream.

What next?

And if you just want more then here are some extras for you…

Pop to the front desk to ask if they have space for you to race again? I know you can take that first corner better.

You beat this group of friends, but I hear your work colleagues are doubting your skills – work socials at F1 Arcade are simply the best.

The crème de la creme – an F1 Arcade Watch Party. The greatest place to watch F1 with unlimited sim racing! These are coming very soon to the US.

After visiting F1 Arcade

You can’t stay at F1 Arcade forever, the sims are great but unsure about your sleep score in those.

However, we would love to see your photos and videos from your visit – please tag us @F1ArcadeUSA on all content channels (TikTok).

Always check back on the F1 Arcade Hub to see the latest content, new items, F1 Arcade news and loads more.

Travelling around the world? We are already open in London, UK and Birmingham, UK.