At Zandvoort this weekend, Burgess has clawed money back by staying in a capsule hostel for the first time. In Austria, his girlfriend, Ellie, attending with him turned out to be a bonus. “We split the accommodation costs in half. So I did count it as half, not the whole cost,” he adds.
For the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka in April, however, he had to be in and out to keep costs to a minimum.
“The Australian Grand Prix and China are linked together, which helped,” he says. “But Japan was literally a long weekend in Japan. So, 20 hours of travel, I was in Japan for three days, and then 20 hours of travel back. That’s probably the most crazy one so far.”
Burgess is documenting the ups and downs of life on the road via his Instagram account,, external which has meant a bed for the night does pop up from time to time.
“I have had some offers, but I’m trying to stick to it as if people didn’t know about my challenge, to try and keep it as authentic as possible,” he says. He has also become the go-to man for travel tips among other fans.
With no days off in lieu available at his job to add to his leave tally, Burgess also has to be strategic about juggling his professional life.
He did his paid hours at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix thanks to a work from abroad scheme, and opted not to fly home between Bahrain and Saudi in April to reduce costs. He is also grateful that the hybrid nature of his job has allowed him to work from home on some Mondays after a tiring journey back from a race.
His challenge caught the eye of Aston Martin, who invited Burgess to a garage and paddock tour in Saudi. “It was a dream come true,” he says. Another highlight is connecting with other fans, especially as a solo traveller.
“You’ve basically got friends all over the globe,” says Burgess. “And some of the people I’ve met I’ve actually kept in contact with. So some of the people I’ve met in Australia at the start of the season, I still chat to now, which is really nice.”
In terms of his hopes for what happens on track, a Ferrari grand prix win, especially one for Charles Leclerc, would be a bonus: “Growing up, I was a massive Michael Schumacher fan, so that’s the reason why I’ve stuck with Ferrari since the Schumacher days,” he says.
“If I go to every race and I don’t see one Ferrari win, that’s going to be quite unbelievable.”
