Verstappen could move into the top 10 of most podiums, Hamilton can set a new record for most poles at a single venue and Alonso could reach 900 laps raced at Albert Park. Here are the milestones and records which could be broken at the 2022 Australian Grand Prix!
THE MILESTONES
The 2022 Australian Grand Prix will be the 1,060th World Championship race. It will be the 85th Australian Grand Prix since the event was first held in 1928 and the 36th time that the event has been held as a round of the F1 World Championship.
This will be the 25th Formula 1 race held at Albert Park. The circuit becomes the fourteenth to have hosted 25 World Championship events.
This will be the first time that the Australian Grand Prix has taken place but not as the season opener since 2010. 2006 is the only other Albert Park race which was not the first race of the season.
The 2022 Australian Grand Prix will be the second F1 race to be held on April 10th. The only other race held on this date was the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix.
Lap fourteen of the 2022 Australian Grand Prix will be the 1,400th Grand Prix lap raced at Albert Park.
This weekend will mark Fernando Alonso’s seventeenth appearance at Albert Park. He equals Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen as the drivers to have made the most starts at the track. If he completes 27 laps of the race, Alonso would be the first driver to complete 900 racing laps at the venue.
THE F1 RECORDS TO BREAK
A podium finish for Max Verstappen would see him equal David Coulthard for tenth in the all-time list of most Formula 1 podium finishes. A podium for Verstappen this weekend would also be the 350th podium finish recorded by car number 1.
If Daniel Ricciardo sets the Fastest Lap it would be the tenth time that a home driver has taken three or more fastest laps at their national Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have finished on the podium in each of the last two races. Should they do so again at the Australian Grand Prix, it would be the first time that both Ferrari drivers have finished on the podium at three consecutive races since the 2008 Bahrain, Spanish and Turkish Grands Prix.
Sergio Perez took his maiden pole position at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. If there is another new polesitter this weekend, it would be the first time that two consecutive races have had maiden polesitters since the 1994 Belgian and Italian Grands Prix. Read more: Consecutive F1 races with new polesitters.
If Carlos Sainz finishes in the top ten this weekend, he will score for the 18th consecutive race. It would be only the 16th time that a driver has achieved the feat.
HAMILTON SEARCHES FOR FIRST WIN OF 2022
Lewis Hamilton can set a new outright record for most poles at a single venue this weekend. Should he take pole, he’d be the first to take nine poles at a track. Hamilton currently shares the record for most poles at a single circuit with Ayrton Senna (8 at Imola) and Michael Schumacher (8 at Suzuka). Hamilton has also taken eight poles at the Hungaroring.
Pole for a British driver would see the nation equal their own record for most consecutive seasons in which a nation has taken pole. The current record held by British drivers is 19 consecutive seasons with a pole position, between 1955 and 1973.
At the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton recorded his 32nd third place finish in F1. Another third place this weekend would see him equal Sebastian Vettel as the driver to have recorded the second-most third places in F1 history. Only Kimi Raikkonen sits ahead of Vettel and Hamilton in this list, with 45 third place results.
Victory for Lewis Hamilton in any race in 2022 will see him become the first driver in F1 history to have won a race in 16 different seasons, as well as the first to win in 16 consecutive seasons.
If he takes pole position, sets the fastest lap and wins the race, Lewis Hamilton would become the second driver – after Michael Schumacher – to record 20 hat tricks in his F1 career.
If Lewis Hamilton sets the Fastest Lap of the race, he will become the first driver to set 60 Fastest Laps with a single engine manufacturer.
MERCEDES SEEK SUCCESS
Pole for Mercedes would make them the first engine manufacturer to have poles in 26 consecutive seasons. Ferrari are the only other engine manufacturer to have poles in 25 successive years. Their record streak ended in 2020. Meanwhile, if a Mercedes-powered car leads the race, the manufacturer would be first to lead races in 28 consecutive seasons.
If three Mercedes-powered cars finish on the podium, Mercedes will equal Renault’s record tally of seventeen podium lockouts for an engine manufacturer.
RECORD POINTS TALLIES
If French drivers score 45 points between them, the nation will overtake Brazil as the country to have scored the fourth most points in Formula 1.
If Max Verstappen scores more than 12 points, he’ll overtake Nico Rosberg as the driver to have scored the sixth most points in Formula 1.
Valtteri Bottas will become only the fifth driver to have scored 1,750 points in his F1 career if he finishes eighth or better at the Australian Grand Prix. A podium result for Bottas would see him equal Rubens Barrichello as the non-champion with the most podiums in F1.
Should he score 18 points this weekend, Fernando Alonso would become the third driver to have scored 2,000 points during his F1 career. Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel are the only other drivers to have done so. Alonso is 20 points away from achieving the feat.
This weekend, Sebastian Vettel can become the fifth driver to have scored in 16 consecutive Formula 1 seasons. Jenson Button, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton are the only other drivers to have done so. Vettel can become the third driver to record podium finishes in fifteen different seasons if he finishes in the top three
If Alex Albon scores three points, he will become the seventh driver to score 200 points without recording a victory. Lance Stroll could do the same thing, but only if he wins this weekend’s race.
THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX RECORDS TO BREAK
A win for Sebastian Vettel would see him equal Michael Schumacher’s tally of four Australian Grand Prix wins. It’s the record for most number of wins at the event. Lex Davison also won the Australian Grand Prix four times before it was a round of the F1 championship.
If he wins this weekend, Valtteri Bottas will become only the fourth driver to have taken consecutive wins at the Albert Park circuit. The other drivers to have won consecutive races at the track are Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button.
Ferrari could become the team to have finished on the podium most frequently at the Australian Grand Prix. They are currently on 25 podiums at the event, one behind McLaren’s tally of 26 podiums in Australia.
Sebastian Vettel could set a new record for most third place finishes at Albert Park this weekend. Along with Ralf Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen, Vettel has finished third in Melbourne on three previous occasions. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso would join that trio should either of them finish third on Sunday.
If Fernando Alonso finishes in the top ten at the 2022 Australian Grand Prix, he’d set a new record for most top ten finishes at the Albert Park circuit. It’s a record which is currently shared between Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. Both drivers have finished in the top ten thirteen times at the track. Alonso could also equal Raikkonen as the driver to have had the most points-scoring appearances at the circuit.
British and German drivers are currently tied for most wins at the Albert Park circuit. A win for either nation would extend their record to nine victories.
Lando Norris will be hoping to reach Q3 at the Australian Grand Prix for a second consecutive race at the circuit. If he does so, he’ll remain in a group of four drivers who have reached Q3 on every appearance at the Australian Grand Prix. The other drivers in the group are Jacques Villeneuve, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher. Yuki Tsunoda, Mick Schumacher, Nicholas Latifi and Guanyu Zhou would also join that list should they reach Q3 on Saturday.
Ferrari could equal Mercedes’ record of most poles at the Albert Park circuit, while Mercedes themselves could extend their existing record to seven. If Mercedes take pole, the team would extend their record for most consecutive poles at the circuit.
Michael Schumacher could be usurped as the driver to have led the most laps at the Albert Park circuit this weekend. Schumacher led 198 laps here in his career. Sebastian Vettel would need to lead five laps to surpass that record, while Lewis Hamilton would need to lead 47 laps to take the crown.
If Ferrari score 13.5 points this weekend, they will become the first team to have scored 400 points at the Australian Grand Prix.
