Formula 1: The History of the Australian Grand Prix

Just like in school exams, ‘take out a piece of paper,’ so too have the teams done whatever they could until now because the upcoming weekend kicks off the championship from Melbourne, and thus it will become clear what they will… write and certainly what grade they will get. The 10 teams and 20 drivers are already in Melbourne to acclimatize, as from Friday morning, local time, they dive into the battle of free practice sessions, Saturday for the official qualifying to determine starting positions, and of course Sunday with the big Grand Prix. The 39th edition of the Australian Grand Prix will take place at Albert Park: the first 11 editions (1985–1995) were held in Adelaide, and since 1996, the race has been held at Albert Park, except for 2020 and 2021 when the race was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Adelaide traditionally hosted the final race of the year, while Melbourne always hosts the race early in the season, usually as the opener, as is the case this year. This will be the 23rd time that Albert Park hosts the opening Grand Prix of an F1 season. Notably, the Australian Grand Prix was the last race of the 1995 season and the first race of 1996 – the only time in history that the same Grand Prix occurred in consecutive races. Michael Schumacher leads the all-time winners list in Australia with 4 victories, followed by Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel with 3 wins each. A total of 20 different drivers have won in Australia, making it one of the races with the most diverse winners. However, only 15 have started from pole position, with Lewis Hamilton leading with 8, followed by Ayrton Senna with 6 times. McLaren and Ferrari are the most successful teams, each with 11 wins. Scuderia Ferrari won twice in the past three years, in 2022 with Charles Leclerc and last year with Carlos Sainz, while the current world champions (Hamilton, Verstappen, Alonso) haven’t tasted victory in Melbourne since Button’s win in 2012. By finishing first and second in 2024, Ferrari now holds the record for the most podium finishes (27). The Albert Park Circuit, which was modified before 2023 and shortened to 5.278 km, is a temporary circuit partly on public roads with new asphalt. Melbourne has the shortest pit lane on the calendar at just 281 meters, meaning cars spend only 12.6 seconds driving inside the pit lane per lap. Each driver makes only 35 gear changes per lap at Albert Park, the second-lowest total on the 2025 calendar after Monaco. Additionally, 71% of the lap time involves full throttle – also the second-highest percentage after Monaco – while the turn 9-10 section of the lap will subject drivers to the highest lateral G-forces of the season at 5.1!