Austin F1 race: Things to check out around town

F1 is taking over Austin this weekend, but if you don't have a ticket, you can still join in on the fun. That's right. From racing simulators to pop-ups inspired by some of the sport's biggest stars, plenty happening off of the track this weekend. Good day, Austin. Juliana Jackson joins us with more. Morning, Juliana. Good morning, Katie and Dave. Yeah, some Formula One's biggest names is bringing the fun and excitement from the racetrack to the fans across the city. We're here on San Jacinto Boulevard at one of just the many pop-ups. McLaren star Lando Norris has transformed this former gas station into a 70s-inspired pit stop. You can shop some of his merch, even get some free pins and stickers, so really fun. But this is just one of many pop-ups across the city. These are called free activations. Like I just said, we're here at the Lando Norris Original Service Department on San Jacinto Boulevard. It's a 70s-inspired pit stop. But for some other spots around town, over on Congress Avenue, the Williams F1 Fan Zone is giving fans a chance to try racing simulators, play games, and get an up-close look at a full-size F1 show car. Mercedes is putting fans to work with the Pit Stop Tire Changing Challenge, while former F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo is bringing his own fashion brand to East Austin. And Red Bull is giving fans a chance to get closer to their favorite drivers. Fans tell us they're already having the time of their lives. Favorite driver is going to be between Pierre Gasly or Colapinto. I actually got to meet my favorite driver. Yep, kind of crazy. This morning, yeah, I got his autograph. Lando Norris, yeah. Yep, it was kind of crazy. Cried a little, but yeah, it was awesome. My favorite driver has been Max Verstappen all the time, so I think he's like a four- or five-time world champion, so excited to watch him race. All of these pop-ups are free to enter, although some require registration and merchandise will cost you. Most are happening through Sunday, but the Williams Fan Zone wraps up Saturday. So here at this pop-up for Lando Norris, it's a few minutes past the hour. Still no fans here yet, but this has been one of the most popular spots for people to go check out. So I'm sure as the day goes on, it'll just get busier and busier as we get ready for race day starting later this afternoon. Reporting live in downtown, Jelena Jackson. Back to you, Katie and Dave. F1 is taking over Austin this weekend, but you don't have to have a race ticket to have fun. There's a lot to do downtown and other spots as well from racing simulators, pop-up events. There's a lot going on. Good day, Austin. Juliana Jackson breaks it all down for us this morning. Hey, Juliana. Good morning, Katie and Dave. Yeah, the sun is up and people are out and about, and they are checking out all of the free activations and pop-ups that are in town for Formula 1 this weekend. We're here on Congress at the Mercedes pop-up. As you can see here behind me, there aren't any fans here just yet, but I did hear lines got really long yesterday, so we can probably expect that for today as well. We have a sports car here behind us, memorabilia, simulators, and then the best part about this pop-up is you can get the chance to test your skills as an F1 pit stop mechanic. I know a lot of people are excited about that one, but this one isn't the only one across the city. Earlier this morning, we were at Lando Norris McLaren Star, his original service department. It's on San Jacinto Boulevard. It's a 70s-inspired pit stop with merchandise and free activities. Over on Congress Avenue, the Williams F1 Fan Zone is giving fans a chance to try racing simulators, play games, and get an up-close look at a full-size F1 show car. Mercedes, where we're at right now, is putting fans to work with a pit stop tire changing challenge. And former F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo is bringing his own fashion brand to East Austin. And Red Bull is giving fans a chance to get closer to their favorite drivers. We spoke with fans who say they're already having the best time. Favorite driver is going to be between Pierre Gasly or Colapinto. I actually got to meet my favorite driver. Yep. Kind of crazy. This morning, yeah, I got his autograph. Lando Norris. Yeah. Yep. It was kind of crazy. Cried a little. But yeah. It's awesome. My favorite driver has been Max Verstappen all the time, so I think he's like a four- or five-time world champion, so excited to watch him race. All these pop-ups are free to enter, although some require registration and merchandise will cost you. Most are happening through Sunday, but the Williams Fan Zone wraps up on Saturday. Here at the Mercedes pop-up, you will have to register, but it is free. It's just to help the crowds come through, and so everyone gets a chance to check out all of the fun. So if you're not able to make it out to COTA, you can still get a taste of that speed and excitement around town. Reporting live downtown, Juliana Jackson, back to you. F1, of course, the big deal in Austin this weekend, but you don't have to have a race ticket to get in on all of that fun. That's right. There's racing simulators, pop-ups all around town. Juliana Jackson joins us from one of them. Hey, Juliana. Yeah, good morning, Katie and Dave. We have been out around the city all morning long, and we've been talking about, you know, fans haven't lined up yet, but now at 9 a.m. here in South Congress at POV Beauty, we have our first two fans we've seen say hi now this pop-up doesn't open for just a few more hours so they're already here they're excited so where we're at right now is POV Beauty it's a makeup brand by TikToker Mikayla Nogueira but it's not only makeup they have here they have arcade games they have a VR simulator so we'll show you y'all later a little bit of that later on but this isn't the only pop-up across town as we've shown y'all earlier this morning Lando Norris the McLaren star has his Lando's original service department on San Jacinto Boulevard. It's a 70s-inspired pit stop. Over on Congress Avenue, the Williams F1 Fan Zone is giving fans a chance to try racing simulators, play games, and get an up-close look at a full-size F1 show car. Mercedes is putting fans to work with a pit stop tire changing challenge. Meanwhile, former F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo is bringing his own fashion brand to East Austin, and Red Bull is giving fans a chance to get closer to their favorite drivers. Other fans we spoke with said that they are having the best time ever. Favorite driver is going to be between Pierre Gasly or Colapinto. I actually got to meet my favorite driver. Yep. Kind of crazy this morning. Yeah. I got his autograph. Lando Norris. Yeah. Yep. It's kind of crazy. Cried a little, but yeah, it's awesome. My favorite driver has been Max Verstappen all the time. So I think he's like a four or five time world champion. So excited to watch him race all these pop-ups are free to enter although some require registration beforehand and merchandise will cost you most are happening through Sunday but the Williams fan zone wraps up on Saturday so if you don't have a ticket to COTA or for the races this weekend you can still have a lot a lot of fun with family and friends over the weekend throughout Austin reporting live on South Congress, Juliana Jackson, back to you Katie and Dave Thank you.