Australia
Melbourne
​
Track: Albert Park Circuit
Australia has been responsible for hosting the first race for each Formula One season since 1998. The location of Albert Park served as the first race for the start of the season and ever since then, the track served a lot of action due to it's challenging turns and unique track layout. Albert Park has been able to serve a lot of exciting and thrilling action in the sport and has become a fan-favorite over the last 20 years. This isn't the first time Formula One has raced in Australia as they managed to race at a different venue back in 1985.
Onboard Lap using EA SPORTS F1® 24
Adelaide Circuit
Formula One has been to Australia back in 1985. Their first time racing in Australia was held in city of Adelaide. Before they even switched to Melbourne, The Adelaide Street Circuit served to be the first track for F1 to race in Australia. Adelaide was one of the first few attempts of bringing Formula One racing in the streets following its success in Monaco back in 1950. Unlike Monaco, the circuit was much more bigger and served more action in any street circuit at the time.
1985 Australian Grand Prix
Australia Grand Prix (Adelaide) Track Layout
1985 - 1995 (racingcircuit.info)
​Turns: 16
Length: 3.78km/2.35mi
Laps: 85
Adelaide Circuit joined the FIA Formula One 1985 World Championship Calendar and had served a lot of racing action from 1985 - 1995. Because of all the insane and dramatic events during the Grand Prix, the circuit was immediately loved by fans. The circuit served a lot of memorable moments especially during the dramatic and controversial battle between Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher during the 1994 FIA Formula One World Championship. Adelaide served as the final race of the season and 1994 ended the season with a dramatic moment. 1994 has been a dark season for all fans and drivers. The fans suffered the loss of two Formula One drivers at the San Marino Grand Prix which were Roland Ratzenberger and three-time Formula One Champion Ayrton Senna. Despite the tragic loss of the drivers, the sport heavily improved the safety conditions of the drivers and added new safety measures in the tracks such as the removal of concrete walls and gravel traps to slow down cars.
Fun Fact: Adelaide would serve as the last Grand Prix race for Alain Prost, and the last Grand Prix Victory for Ayrton Senna
Michael Schumacher vs Damon Hill
But it was during the final race between Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill at the Australian Grand Prix. Both contenders were separated by 1 point leading to a title showdown at the last race of the season. The two contenders fought wheel to wheel to win the championship. But it was during lap 36, when the eventually got too close to each other, Schumacher collided with Hill in a desperate attempt to overtake him to stay in the lead of the drivers championship. This ended up with a dramatic crash to Schumacher as his car flipped nearly causing the car to roll over. Luckily, he wasn't injured, but unfortunately ended his race after heading straight towards the barriers. Both drivers had damages to their cars. The collision damaged Hill's front left Tyre which caused him to pit. Because of this, neither of the drivers were able to win the Grand Prix. Yet despite the dramatic ending, Michael Schumacher earned his first world championship in a very controversial ending. The Adelaide Grand Prix lasted until 1995 and was the final time F1 raced at that venue before switching to Melbourne. Overall, the Adelaide Circuit served great and memorable moments in the sport that fans would never forget. The battle for the 1994 championship would be remembered by a lot of fans making Adelaide a fan favorite.
1985: Keke Rosberg
1986: Alain Prost
1987: Gerhard Berger
1988: Alain Prost
1989: Thierry Boutsen
1990: Nelson Piquet
1991: Ayrton Senna
1992: Gerhard Berger
1993: Ayrton Senna
1994: Nigel Mansell
1995: Damon Hill
WINNERS
WINNERS
Australian Grand Prix
Albert Park before the setup
Formula One had been absent in Australia for two years since it's departure from Adelaide. There were plans to switch the location for Formula One to host a Grand Prix in Australia to promote better racing, and they eventually settled with Albert Park. A small park located in Melbourne with a lake right a the center were visitors can enjoy the scenery. They settled with this idea and began to start transforming the quiet park into F1's latest race track. They believed that Albert Park was wide enough to serve a lot more racing action compared to it's predecessor, and the location of the Grand Prix won't have to deal with any traffic problems or closing down any roads in the streets unlike in Adelaide now the track will only be inside the park.
Albert Park Circuit Layout​
Turns: 16
DRS Zones: 4
Length: 5.28km (3.28mi)
Fastest Lap: Charles Leclerc
1:19.813
​
After the track was finally constructed and everything was in place, Formula One began their new Australian Grand Prix during the 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was an exciting weekend for the fans as it shows that Formula One isn't done yet in Australia. Back when F1 raced at Adelaide, the race always held the final race. But here in Melbourne, the Grand Prix became the first race for the season ever since it's debut in 1998. The Grand Prix began in the 8th of March at the beginning of the season and the entire Grand Prix was dominated by McLaren-Mercedes team and won the first race of the season. The race was won by Mika Häkkinen and was able to beat his team mate David Coulthard in controversial circumstances due to mis-communications and team orders on the radio. During lap 36 when Häkkinen came into the pits unexpectedly having a misheard call over the radio. After exiting the pits, he lost first place to his team mate. But during the last few laps of the Grand Prix, Coulthard's lead was decreasing by two seconds. So he let Häkkinen pass through to take the lead due to the poor performance of his car, allowing Häkkinen to win the Grand Prix.
Ralf Schumacher's incident in the 2002 Australian GP
Max Verstappen's RB18 caught on fire (2022 Australian GP)
2023 Australian GP Restart
Max Verstappen's Retirement (2024 Australian GP)
WINNERS
​
1998: Mika Hakkinen
1999: Eddie Irvine
2000: Michael Schumacher
2001: Michael Schumacher
2002: Michael Schumacher
2003: David Coulthard
2004: Michael Schumacher
2005: Fernando Alonso
2006: Fernando Alonso
2007: Kimi Räikkönen
2008: Lewis Hamilton
2009: Jenson Button
2010: Jenson Button
Mika Häkkinen vs David Coulthard during the 1998 Australian Grand Prix
Melbourne was a success in the Formula One calendar, being able to serve a lot of wheel to wheel action over the past few years. It became such a fan favorite because of the number of shocking and dramatic moments it has been able to produce over the last 20 years. Such as moments like when Ralf Schumacher had a terrifying moment after colliding with Jacques Villeneuve causing his car to ram the driver in front of him making his car go air born. As well as moments in modern-day Formula One. During the Pandemic, the event had to be cancelled and was absent for the 2020 and 2021 season. Because of this, Bahrain became responsible for hosting the first race of the season. Eventually, Australia would rejoin the calendar back in 2022 and would see new updates to the track. The number of turns had been reduced to 14 thanks to some updates around turn 8 which is now one long turn were drivers can go flat out. Turns 9 to 10 had also been refined for more high speed turns and overall better driving. during the 2022 Grand Prix, 4 time Champion Max Verstappen's Red Bull RB18 having to caught on fire, forcing Verstappen to retire, giving the race win to Ferrari Driver Charles Leclerc. In 2023 the race had a dramatic restart after the session being red-flagged. During the restart, drivers such as Charles Leclerc, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll went wide into Turn 1 as well as chaotic moments such as the two Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, colliding with each other in the wall which was a disaster for Alpine not scoring any points during the weekend. And recently in 2024, Max Verstappen faced another problem with his car. His car was on fire once again forcing him to withdraw and retire early on in the race, this time allowing Ferrari Driver Carlos Sainz to take the win. After further investigations, it turns out it was Verstappen's brakes on his car that were caught on fire. ​​​​​​​​​​Overall, the Australian Grand Prix has been continuing to serve a lot of memorable and non-stop action over the past 20 years and is continuing to do so. It will return to host the first race of the season in 2025 and fans would love to see yet another dramatic season opening in Australia.​
2011: Sebastian Vettel
2012: Jenson Button
2013: Kimi Räikkönen
2014: Nico Rosberg
2015: Lewis Hamilton
2016: Nico Rosberg
2017: Sebastian Vettel
2018: Sebastian Vettel
2019: Valtteri Bottas
2021: Max Verstappen
2022: Charles Leclerc
2023: Max Verstappen
2024: Carlos Sainz