Hundreds of necks violently twisting in unison as car after technologically refined car fizzes past at hundreds of kilometres an hour. And this year the engines are meant to be even faster, as part of a new bid to bring back the fans. But as the chiros plan new extensions, their colleagues in the ear, nose and throat department can probably think about some time off.

"They need to be bloody louder," says one long-time GP watcher after getting his first experience of the new and improved models on Saturday. "Go back to the old days, when they had the V10s."

Residents and workers of inner Melbourne would remember the old days, the screams of engines echoing through the city and bouncing off buildings in a crescendo of horsepower.

The softer note has been a sticking point in recent years. Race supremo Ron Walker even threatened legal action a few years ago over the lack of aural punch of the latest V6 turbo powerplant.

"Yeah they're not as loud as they used to be," says Gary Minter. "I used to hear them at my place in Williamstown. But these ones look quicker and are maybe just a bit noisier."

On Brocky's Hill, there is a noticeable lack of ear protection as the cars do laps for practice on Saturday. Even the kids don't bother putting on their big ear muffs until the F/A18 jet completes its drum-shattering flyover later in the day.

Nevertheless, the crowd is happy to see the new-look cars, which are supposedly fatter and meaner, refine their set-up and tactics ahead of qualifying and the big race on Sunday.

Some try to accomplish the impossible feat: taking a selfie with a speeding F1 car on their smartphone. Most fail.

Practice ends early after Lance Stroll put his Williams machine into a wall on turn 10 not far from the hill. Some spectators sprint down to satisfy one of humanity's more primal urges: rubber necking a car crash. They return with grins on their faces.

After the small taste of racing is finished, fans decked out in Red Bull T-Shirts and Ferrari hats walk around Albert Park sampling the rest of the entertainment.

The kids get their first taste of unaffordable luxury items at a Porsche driving school. The adults lubricate their own engines with European beers at the "Shoey Bar", named after the Daniel Ricciardo celebratory drinking vessel.

If the home-town hero gets up on Sunday, there won't be a dry shoe in the house.