F1 Store in London: We Visited The O2 F1 Shop!
Here is an amazing review sent to us by @throughgoeshamilton.f1
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I have seen a few tiktoks of people visiting the F1 pop up store at the 02 in London; I decided to check it out for myself while I was in Greenwich.
I was on the hunt for some team merchandise for my upcoming trip to the Silverstone F1 Grand Prix in July. My favourite drivers on the current grid are Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
I arrived at the 02 via the tube
which took about 10 minutes from Central London to North Greenwich Station, followed by a 2-minute walk to the 02 from the Station. The transport links are fantastic and well sign posted.
More ways to get to the 02 are available on their website, which include arriving by river, bus and car. The O2 is a multi-purpose large entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London, including a 20,000 capacity indoor arena, outlet shops, a cinema, an exhibition space, bars and restaurants.
The 02 is huge; I am still in awe of how they crammed everything inside. It is an impressive building and is worth visiting in its own right.
When you enter the O2, go left and walk down past the restaurants and you will find the F1 store on the first floor.
The store was a lot bigger than I thought it would be,
and is modern, clean, and spacious with white walls and wooden flooring throughout. The dressing rooms were spacious with large mirrors and flattering lighting.
When you enter the store, you are welcomed with an impressive display of F1 memorabilia, including signed race suits by Norris and Hamilton and, signed t-shirts by Ocon and Stroll, mini helmets and framed signed prints, which you can buy (if you can afford it!)
McLaren had a great range of t-shirts, hats, hoodies. The papaya colour definitely stands out in the store. If you are McLaren fan, chances are you will find something you like here.
Ferrari had the standard t-shirts, caps, umbrellas and jackets, as well as some bags. The Ferrari merchandise was noticeably more expensive than the other teams, which is also similar to my Ferrari shopping experience online.
Red Bull had a vast selection of items; their merchandise has a strong brand and the navy blue looked striking on the shelves. Aston Martin and Williams had a reasonable collection of t-shirts, jackets, hoodies, hats and bags. I was tempted to buy an Aston Martin Alonso cap, however this was an eye watering £52.20. Online, the same hat was available for £37.50.
I liked the Mercedes merchandise best, with a great colour range of caps and clothing. Standout items were the pastel bucket hats and caps, which again cost £52.20. The high costs of merchandise seems to be a reoccurring theme within F1. The standard caps were a reasonable £30.
I opted for a purple Lewis Hamilton Mercedes cap,
however I checked Amazon later that day and it was on offer for £17.50 with free next day delivery. I understand the shop has overheads and staffing costs, but it might be worth checking how much the items are online before purchasing if you are on a tight budget.
The other teams did have a small presence within the store; Alpine, AlphaTauri, Haas and Alfa Romeo had smaller sections with caps and t-shirts. They did feel like a bit of an afterthought and it was obvious that the store had more stock for the 'more popular' teams. I noticed a couple of rare and discontinued items, such as Mercedes Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez Racing Point caps, Romain Grosjean caps and Redbull Toro Rosso caps.
The staff were helpful and happy to answer my questions about what sizing was available in the t-shirts. Most of the ranges in store went up to 2XL, with some Red Bull and McLaren merchandise available in up to 3XL. I went to the store on a Sunday afternoon and it was relatively quiet, because the shop is so spacious, it felt as if I had the store to myself.
If you are an F1 fan and you are in the area, it is worth having a visit.
I am not sure it is worth travelling here specifically, unless you want to try on your items before purchasing or prefer actual real life shopping.
If you are on a budget, it is worth shopping around online for the best price, as you are not going to find any bargains at this store; but it was an enjoyable experience to visit a store dedicated to F1 merchandise.
