Flying Down Under: The history and records of the Australian Grand Prix

[p]Since moving from the Adelaide Street Circuit to Melbourne in 1996, the Australian Grand Prix has served as the traditional season opener for Formula 1, except for the five seasons between 2020 and 2024. It’s made Albert Park a trusted first sight for all new Formula 1 cars and curious fans, who can’t wait for a new season to start.[/p][p]The Melbourne track has turned the Australian Grand Prix from the traditional season finale in Adelaide into the race that Formula 1 fans look forward to for months, but what makes it such a special track? And which drivers have historically dominated in Melbourne? Flashscore takes you through all the essentials of the Albert Park Circuit.[/p][h2]The history of Albert Park Circuit[/h2][p]Albert Park Circuit was first used for an official Formula 1 race in [b]1996[/b], when it replaced the street circuit in Adelaide as the home ground of the Australian Grand Prix. The track is built around Albert Park Lake and uses everyday road sections that turn into a fast-paced, driver-friendly track, measuring [b]5.278 kilometres[/b] (3.28 miles) with [b]14 total turns[/b].[/p][p]Even before 1996, though, Albert Park served as a host of the unofficial Australian Grand Prix in the Tasman Formula class. Albert Park hosted the Australian Grand Prix in 1953 and 1956, with Melbourne’s own Doug Whiteford and British racing icon Stirling Moss winning those editions.[/p][image alt="Australian F1 driver Mark Webber flies high above Albert Park Circuit in 2002" id="caff002b-f161-4a6a-a464-49160c1d2d90" credit-line="Profimedia" guid="1afa964a-7635-4fb5-af02-4bee88bfeeb8" original-width="1400" original-height="922" /][p]Following an 11-year run in Adelaide, the official Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix moved to Melbourne in 1996. Williams legend [b]Damon Hill[/b], who won the final race in Adelaide, made it two-straight in Australia by winning the maiden Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in 1996, the year he won his only World Drivers’ Championship.[/p][p]The track soon became a second home for the mighty [b]Ferrari [/b]team, with [b]Eddie Irvine and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/schumacher-michael/YDi9bDAn/"]Michael Schumacher[/a][/b] winning five of the six Australian Grands Prix between 1999 and 2004. The Italian outfit went on to [b]win a record 9 Australian Grands Prix[/b] at Albert Park, which they lead over [b]McLaren [/b](7), [b]Mercedes [/b](4), [b]Renault[/b], and [b]Red Bull[/b] (both 2).[/p][p]Since 1996, Albert Park has [b]not [/b]hosted the season opener seven times. The Australian Grand Prix was moved to the third and second rounds in 2006 and 2010 due to the Commonwealth Games, while the COVID-19 pandemic meant the grand prix would not be held at all in 2020 and 2021. From 2022 to 2024, the Australian Grand Prix was the third race on the F1 calendar.[/p][h2]The anatomy of Albert Park Circuit[/h2][p]Drivers at Albert Park Circuit start with a short straight that leads into a swift left-right turn combination, which is the lead-up to the second straight. A quick three-turn mini-sector flows into a shorter straight into turn 6, a sharp right-hander that opens the second sector, leading the drivers to the long, swerving back straight.[/p][p]The track underwent some changes ahead of the 2022 Australian Grand Prix in the third and final sector, with turns 9 and 10, which had been a slower right-left corner combination, becoming a sweeping left-right turn at the end of a curved straight. The changes made the track about 5 seconds faster.[/p][p]After another shorter straight, the third sector reaches the technical end of the track, starting with a sharp right turn (T11) and ending with a swift three-turn combination that leads to the finish line.[/p][embed guid="541f7d2b-0236-4f1f-b1c8-5bfd5bf41217" url="https://x.com/F1/status/1901015044101439635?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][h2]The legends of Albert Park Circuit[/h2][p][b]Damon Hill[/b] started the Albert Park era of the Australian Grand Prix with a win in 1996, which would end up being the only win at Albert Park of Williams’ storied history.[/p][p]Following a McLaren double in 1997 and 1998, courtesy of [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/coulthard-david/A7qWvn3b/"]David Coulthard[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hakkinen-mika/4xXsE3K9/"]Mika Häkkinen[/a][/b], Ferrari stole the show in Australia with four consecutive wins, with [b]Michael Schumacher[/b] winning all editions between [b]2000 and 2002[/b]. McLaren’s [b]David Coulthard[/b] claimed the race win in 2003 to break Schumacher’s streak, but the German icon returned to the top step in 2004, when his mighty Ferrari F2004 set the race lap record with a time of [b]1:24.125 [/b]– a record that stood until 2022.[/p][image alt="No one has won more races at Albert Park Circuit than Michael Schumacher" id="6008c43b-6f71-409b-a9f2-08e31c73b7e7" credit-line="Greg WOOD / AFP / AFP / Profimedia" guid="d53c2162-68bd-41d0-9e77-57ff910e09d9" original-width="1135" original-height="1400" /][p]Renault drivers [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fisichella-giancarlo/fHTsQGxI/"]Giancarlo Fisichella[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alonso-fernando/rVRhR90U/"]Fernando Alonso[/a][/b] claimed back-to-back wins for the French team in 2005 and 2006 – the last wins before three nations went on a dominant run in Melbourne. Ferrari’s [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/raikkonen-kimi/CAH7ngWu/"]Kimi Räikkönen[/a][/b] claimed the win in 2007, after which [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hamilton-lewis/tI5Vpe1h/"]Lewis Hamilton[/a][/b] (2), [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/button-jenson/j1GBoDon/"]Jenson Button[/a][/b] (3), [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vettel-sebastian/QcDxijmq/"]Sebastian Vettel[/a][/b] (3), [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rosberg-nico/ne6Roynn/"]Nico Rosberg[/a][/b] (2), and [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bottas-valtteri/bRJJqiGb/"]Valtteri Bottas[/a][/b] made all winners between 2008 and 2019 either British, German, or Finnish.[/p][p]Following the COVID-19 pandemic, [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/leclerc-charles/KlCOSRub/"]Charles Leclerc[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/verstappen-max/UV3mgeXB/"]Max Verstappen[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sainz-carlos-jr/l6kEzjTF/"]Carlos Sainz[/a], [/b]and [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/norris-lando/WSVABbVF/"]Lando Norris[/a] [/b]have won the race, making Sebastian Vettel (2017 & 2018) the last driver to win back-to-back Australian Grands Prix.[/p][p]All in all, no one has yet to level Michael Schumacher’s record of four wins in Melbourne, making the 7-time world champion the king of Albert Park.[/p][h2]The Australian Curse of Albert Park[/h2][p]Despite Australia being well-represented in recent Formula 1 history – think of[b] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ricciardo-daniel/C6sajQXD/"]Daniel Ricciardo[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/webber-mark/4lCtjA2k/"]Mark Webber[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/piastri-oscar/MqKAIeUf/"]Oscar Piastri[/a][/b] – no Australian has [b]ever won [/b]the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park. Even worse: no Australian has ever finished on the podium in Melbourne, with Ricciardo, Webber, and Piastri all never finishing higher than [b]fourth[/b].[/p][p]Ricciardo and Piastri did come extremely close to finishing on the podium twice, but the nation was left heartbroken in both 2014 and 2025.[/p][p][b]Daniel Ricciardo[/b] momentarily became the first Australian to ever finish on the podium in the Australian Grand Prix, but was [b]disqualified [/b]after podium celebrations due to a fuel-flow irregularity in his Red Bull.[/p][embed guid="aa734ac2-1ab1-4cfc-95fa-c4e125ba5fe2" url="https://x.com/F1/status/2028920344761823593?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Then, in 2025, [b]Oscar Piastri[/b] looked set to relieve the country of its heartache and break the curse at Albert Park. McLaren were putting up a dominant display in Melbourne, with home hero Oscar Piastri steadily running in second. That was until rainfall cost Piastri dearly, with the young driver spinning with 13 laps remaining and falling from second to ninth, ending his chances at finishing on the podium.[/p][h2]The Australian Grand Prix’s fastest lap record[/h2][p]Michael Schumacher reigned supreme in Melbourne and continued to do so long after his retirement in 2012. His fastest lap in 2004 – a mighty fast time of [b]1:24.125 [/b]– stood as the Albert Park Circuit record until 2022, when Ferrari’s [b]Charles Leclerc[/b] obliterated it with a time of[b] 1:20.260[/b], mostly thanks to the track adjustments.[/p][p]The record was broken in each of the next two years, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/perez-sergio/foV8RteD/"]Sergio Pérez[/a] (1:20.235 in 2023) and Leclerc ([b]1:19.813[/b] in 2024), with the latter still the fastest-ever lap at Albert Park.[/p][p]However, as with all modern races, the true fastest lap was set in a qualifying session at Albert Park. Reigning Formula 1 world champion [b]Lando Norris[/b] currently holds the all-time fastest lap record in Melbourne, with his 2025 pole position time of [b]1:15.096 [/b]narrowly beating out Oscar Piastri’s 1:15.180.[/p][h2]All winners of the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park[/h2][p][b]1996 [/b]– Damon Hill (GBR), Williams-Renault[/p][p][b]1997 [/b]– David Coulthard (GBR), McLaren-Mercedes[/p][p][b]1998 [/b]– Mika Häkkinen (FIN), McLaren-Mercedes[/p][p][b]1999 [/b]– Eddie Irvine (GBR), Ferrari[/p][p][b]2000 [/b]– Michael Schumacher (GER), Ferrari[/p][p][b]2001 [/b]- Michael Schumacher (GER), Ferrari[/p][p][b]2002 [/b]- Michael Schumacher (GER), Ferrari[/p][p][b]2003 [/b]– David Coulthard (GBR), McLaren-Mercedes[/p][p][b]2004 [/b]- Michael Schumacher (GER), Ferrari[/p][p][b]2005 [/b]– Giancarlo Fisichella (ITA), Renault[/p][p][b]2006 [/b]– Fernando Alonso (SPA), Renault[/p][p][b]2007 [/b]– Kimi Räikkönen (FIN), Ferrari[/p][p][b]2008 [/b]– Lewis Hamilton (GBR), McLaren-Mercedes[/p][p][b]2009 [/b]– Jenson Button (GBR), Brawn-Mercedes[/p][p][b]2010 [/b]– Jenson Button (GBR), McLaren-Mercedes[/p][p][b]2011 [/b]– Sebastian Vettel (GER), Red Bull-Renault[/p][p][b]2012 [/b]– Jenson Button (GBR), McLaren-Mercedes[/p][p][b]2013 [/b]– Kimi Räikkönen (FIN), Lotus-Renault[/p][p][b]2014 [/b]– Nico Rosberg (GER), Mercedes[/p][p][b]2015 [/b]– Lewis Hamilton (GBR), Mercedes[/p][p][b]2016 [/b]– Nico Rosberg (GER), Mercedes[/p][p][b]2017 [/b]– Sebastian Vettel (GER), Ferrari[/p][image alt="Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, and Valtteri Bottas have won the Australian Grand Prix a combined six times" id="ad0f86f7-1417-48c6-af93-fe1df24b2e30" credit-line="Photo4 / LaPresse / Profimedia" guid="22e1d227-d55b-4d7f-9dd7-beedbeb57e8c" original-width="1400" original-height="933" /][p][b]2018 [/b]– Sebastian Vettel (GER), Ferrari[/p][p][b]2019 [/b]– Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Mercedes[/p][p][b]2022 [/b]– Charles Leclerc (MON), Ferrari[/p][p][b]2023 [/b]– Max Verstappen (NED), Red Bull-Honda[/p][p][b]2024 [/b]– Carlos Sainz Jr. (SPA), Ferrari[/p][p][b]2025 [/b]– Lando Norris (GBR), McLaren-Mercedes[/p]