Australian Grand Prix 2019: History, Stats & Facts

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The Australian Grand Prix is oldest surviving motor racing competition held annually in Australia, having been held 79 times since it was first run at Phillip Island in 1928.

Since 1985, the race has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship and is currently held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit at Albert Park in Melbourne.

Prior to its inclusion in the World Championship, it was held at a multitude of venues in every state of Australia.

After it became a part of the Formula 1 World Championship in 1985, it was held at the Adelaide Street Circuit in (South Australia) from that year to 1995, before moving to Melbourne in 1996 and the latter circuit is currently under contract to host Formula 1 until 2023.

Australian driver Lex Davison and German driver Michael Schumacher are the most successful drivers in the 86-year history of the event taking four wins each; while McLaren has been the most successful constructor with twelve victories, its success stretching back into the pre-Formula One history of the race as is scored its first win in 1970.

Frenchman Alain Prost is the only driver to win the Australian Grand Prix in both non-championship and World Championship formats, having won the race in 1982, 1986, and again in 1988.

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Australian Grand Prix, Round 1 of the 2019 Formula 1 season

Circuit Name: Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit

Race Laps: 58

Circuit Length: 5.303 km (3.295 mi)

Race Length: 307.574 km (191.071 mi)

Number of corners: 16 (10 R / 6 L)

Circuit Direction: Clockwise

Distance from pole to T1 apex: 248.5m

Pole position 2018: Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes 1:21.164

Pole position side: Left

Pit lane length under speed limit control: 280.7m

Drive-through time at 60 km/h: 16.8s

Lap time at full throttle: 69%

Lap distance at full throttle: 77%

Gear changes per lap: 46

Braking events (>2g): 6

Heavy braking events (4g): 4

Fuel consumption: High

Maximum lateral G-force: 4.4 (T11)

Maximum speed: 321.1 km/h

Track evolution (P1 – Qualifying): High

DRS zones: T2-3 / T12-13 / T16-1

Key overtaking opportunities: T1 / T3 / T13

Race lap record: 1:24.125 (Michael Schumacher 2004 - Ferrari)

Absolute lap record: 1:21.164 (Lewis Hamilton, Q3, 2018 - Mercedes)

Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit

Pirelli used compounds

Tyres that must be available (one of them to be used) at some point in the race:

One set of Hard C2

One set of Medium C3

Tyres assigned for Q3 in qualifying:                     

One set of Soft C4

Teams/Drivers compounds choice

Driver

Super Soft

Ultra Soft

Hyper Soft

Lewis Hamilton

2

3

8

Valtteri Bottas

2

3

8

Sebastian Vettel

3

2

8

Kimi Raikkonen

3

2

8

Daniel Ricciardo

2

3

8

Max Verstappen

2

3

8

Sergio Perez

2

2

9

Esteban Ocon

2

2

9

Lance Stroll

1

2

10

Sergey Sirotkin

2

1

10

Nico Hulkenberg

1

5

7

Carlos Sainz

2

4

7

Pierre Gasly

1

2

10

Brendon Hartley

2

1

10

Romain Grosjean

2

3

8

Kevin Magnussen

1

4

8

Stoffel Vandoorne

2

2

9

Fernando Alonso

2

2

9

Marcus Ericsson

1

4

8

Charles Leclrec

2

3

8

 

THE CIRCUIT FROM A TYRE POINT OF VIEW:

  • Being a street circuit, the track is particularly green and slippery at the start of the weekend, with bumps adding to the lack of grip.
  • There aren’t that many long corners, which means that it’s not always easy to bring tyres up to temperature.
  • A one-stop strategy was the winning choice last year – used by the majority of drivers – and although we need to see degradation rates from free practice, this is likely to be the case again.
  • There’s a high likelihood of a safety car in Melbourne, which affects strategy: one of the reasons why pole position isn’t as crucial in Australia as it can be at other races. The pole position driver has only won once in the last five years…
  • Weather is often a mixed bag, helping to make Melbourne one of the more unpredictable races of the year. Forecasts so far suggest it will be cloudy but dry.
  • Good traction is key to a quick time, in order to get a good drive out of the corners onto the many short straights that characterise the track.

MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF CAR RACING

“Our C2, C3, and C4 hard, medium and soft nominations this year are roughly equivalent to the 2018 medium, soft and ultrasoft compounds. This should allow drivers to push hard from the start to the finish of each stint. After a very productive test in Barcelona, we feel satisfied that the 2019 tyre range is on course to meet our objectives of combining performance with durability. Of course, there are still a number of aspects – such as degradation over the length of a stint – that will only be revealed after free practice in Australia. One other important consideration in Australia will be seeing how the new aero rules work, and if this leads to more overtaking – which is difficult to establish during testing.”

MELBOURNE MINIMUM STARTING PRESSURES AND EOS CAMBER LIMIT (SLICKS)

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Australian Grand Prix Winners 1985 – 2018

Year

Driver

Constructor

Circuit

2018

 Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari

 

2017

 Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari

Albert Park

2016

 Nico Rosberg

Mercedes

2015

 Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

2014

 Nico Rosberg

Mercedes

2013

 Kimi Räikkönen

Lotus-Renault

2012

 Jenson Button

McLaren-Mercedes

2011

 Sebastian Vettel

Red Bull-Renault

2010

 Jenson Button

McLaren-Mercedes

2009

 Jenson Button

Brawn-Mercedes

2008

 Lewis Hamilton

McLaren-Mercedes

2007

 Kimi Räikkönen

Ferrari

2006

 Fernando Alonso

Renault

2005

 Giancarlo Fisichella

Renault

2004

 Michael Schumacher

Ferrari

2003

 David Coulthard

McLaren-Mercedes

2002

 Michael Schumacher

Ferrari

2001

 Michael Schumacher

Ferrari

2000

 Michael Schumacher

Ferrari

1999

 Eddie Irvine

Ferrari

1998

 Mika Häkkinen

McLaren-Mercedes

1997

 David Coulthard

McLaren-Mercedes

1996

 Damon Hill

Williams-Renault

1995

 Damon Hill

Williams-Renault

Adelaide

1994

 Nigel Mansell

Williams-Renault

1993

 Ayrton Senna

McLaren-Ford

1992

 Gerhard Berger

McLaren-Honda

1991

 Ayrton Senna

McLaren-Honda

1990

 Nelson Piquet

Benetton-Ford

1989

 Thierry Boutsen

Williams-Renault

1988

 Alain Prost

McLaren-Honda

1987

 Gerhard Berger

Ferrari

1986

 Alain Prost

McLaren-TAG

1985

 Keke Rosberg

Williams-Honda

 

Multiple Winners (Drivers)

# of wins

Driver

Years Won

4

Michael Schumacher

2000, 2001, 2002, 2004

3

Jenson Button

2009, 2010, 2012

Sebastian Vettel

2011, 2017, 2018

2

Alain Prost

1986, 1988

Gerhard Berger

1987, 1992

Ayrton Senna

1991, 1993

Damon Hill

1995, 1996

David Coulthard

1997, 2003

Kimi Räikkönen

2007, 2013

Lewis Hamilton

2008, 2015

Nico Rosberg

2014, 2016

 

Multiple Winners (Constructors)

Wins

Constructor

Years Won

11

 McLaren

1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2003, 
2008, 2010, 2012

9

 Ferrari

1987, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2017, 2018

5

 Williams

1985, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996

3

 Mercedes

2014, 2015, 2016

2

 Renault

2005, 2006

 

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Numbers and Facts

Most wins (driver) 4 / Michael Schumacher (2000 – 2001 – 2002 – 2004)

Most wins (constructor) 11 / McLaren (1986 – 1988 – 1991 – 1992 – 1993 – 1997 – 1998 – 2003 – 2008 – 2010 – 2012)

Wins from pole position 14 / Most recent 2015 (Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes)

Lowest grid for past winner 11 / David Coulthard 2003

Most recent 1-2 finish 2016 / Nico Rosberg – Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes

Most emphatic win (here) 38.020 / 1996 between Damon Hill – Jacques Villeneuve

Closest winning margin 0.702 / 1997 between Mika Hakkinen – David Coulthard

Safety Car-affected races 13 / 1999 – 2000 – 2001 – 2002 – 2003 – 2006 – 2008 – 2009 – 2010 – 2014 – 2015 – 2016 – 2018

Rain affected races 3 / 1989 – 1991 – 2010

Red Flag (and result declared) races 1 1991 race stopped and result declared after 14 laps (race Red Flagged in 2016 but restarted)

Most podiums (constructor) 26 / McLaren

Most podiums (driver) 8 / Lewis Hamilton

Most pole positions (driver) 7 Lewis Hamilton (2008 – 12 – 14 – 15 – 16 –17 - 18)

Most pole positions (constructor) 10 / McLaren (1988 – 1989 – 1991 – 1993 – 1998 – 1999 – 2000 – 2008 – 2012)

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What Happened last race here?

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel was the defending race winner.

Lewis Hamilton started the race from pole—his seventh pole position in Australia, a record for the event—while Vettel successfully defended his race win, the forty-eighth of his career.

2018 Race Classification

Pos.

Driver

Constructor

Time/Retired

Grid

1

Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari

1:29:33.283

3

2

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

+5.036

1

3

Kimi Räikkönen

Ferrari

+6.309

2

4

Daniel Ricciardo

Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer

+7.069

8

5

Fernando Alonso

McLaren-Renault

+27.886

10

6

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer

+28.945

4

7

Nico Hülkenberg

Renault

+32.671

7

8

Valtteri Bottas

Mercedes

+34.339

15

9

Stoffel Vandoorne

McLaren-Renault

+34.921

11

10

Carlos Sainz Jr.

Renault

+45.722

9

11

Sergio Pérez

Force India-Mercedes

+46.817

12

12

Esteban Ocon

Force India-Mercedes

+1:00.278

14

13

Charles Leclerc

Sauber-Ferrari

+1:15.759

18

14

Lance Stroll

Williams-Mercedes

+1:18.288

13

15

Brendon Hartley

Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda

+1 lap

16

Ret

Romain Grosjean

Haas-Ferrari

Wheel

6

Ret

Kevin Magnussen

Haas-Ferrari

Wheel

5

Ret

Pierre Gasly

Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda

Engine

20

Ret

Marcus Ericsson

Sauber-Ferrari

Hydraulics

17

Ret

Sergey Sirotkin

Williams-Mercedes

Brakes

19

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Did you know?

DRIVERS

Lewis Hamilton has won 31.9% of all GP he’s started (73 wins from 229 starts) and is in the top 10 drivers races to win ratio of all-time. Here’s how he compares:-

  1. Fangio 47.0%, 2. Ascari 40.6%, 3. Clark 34.7%, 4.L.Hamilton 31.9%, 5. M. Schumacher 29.7%, 6. Ja. Stewart 27.2%, 7. Prost 25.6%, 8. A. Senna 25.5%, Moss 24.2%, 10. Vettel 23.7% (52/219)

Nobody has taken more pole positions for the Australian Grand Prix than Hamilton, 7 including the past 5

Sebastian Vettel will have to wait until at least China to lead 100 Grand Prix. He has to date led 98 (Grand Prix)

Victory on Sunday for Vettel will see him equal Michael Schumacher’s record 4 F1 World Championship Australian Grand Prix wins

Max Verstappen has already beaten Ayrton Senna’s career F1 World Championship points total (Senna 614, Verstappen currently 655)

Verstappen will be looking to continue his run of podium finishes (5 so far) that began in Japan last season

Valtteri Bottas set fastest lap 7 times last season. It is the same number of set in 2018 by Hamilton, Vettel and Verstappen combined

Bottas has finished the same number of Grand Prix in the points as Mika Hakkinen (83)

Just 10 drivers have won more GP than Daniel Ricciardo (7) and not won the World Championship at some point in their career

Mark Webber’s 5th-place podium (!) from 2001 remains the only time an Australian driver has stood on the post race podium for their home Grand Prix

 CONSTRUCTORS

Mercedes scored their 101st F1 World Championship pole position in Abu Dhabi. The total is the 5th highest in the history of the championship. Mercedes’s next target is 4th-best Lotus with 107 pole positions. Top all-time is Ferrari with 219

The next front row place for Mercedes will be their 180th in World Championship F1

Mercedes aiming in 2019 to equal Ferrari’s all-time record of 6 Constructor World titles in a row (Ferrari 1999-2004)

Ferrari was the only team to score championship points in all 21 races last season

Ferrari has won the Australian Grand Prix for the past 2 years

McLaren has won a record 11 Australian Grand Prix (next-best Ferrari 10) but this year’s race is likely to mark the team’s 100th race since they last scored even a podium (here in 2014, Jenson Button 2nd and Kevin Magnussen 3rd)

 Driver’s penalty points:

Driver

Penalty points

Romain Grosjean

7

Max Verstappen

7

Lance Stroll

7

Sergio Perez

5

Sebastian Vettel

5

Pierre Gasly

4

Valtteri Bottas

4

Nico Hulkenberg

3

Carlos Sainz

3

Kevin Magnussen

2

Kimi Raikkonen

2

Daniel Ricciardo

2

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