Sainz won at Albert Park last year, Leclerc took a Grand Slam win in 2022, Hamilton has taken pole at eight Australian races and no driver holds a 100% Q3 appearance rate. Here’s everything you need to know about each driver’s history at the Australian Grand Prix!
🇳🇱 Max VERSTAPPEN
Max Verstappen emerged victorious in the chaotic 2023 Australian Grand Prix, recording his first victory at Albert Park. It was his second podium finish at the circuit, having previously finished in third place in the 2019 race.
Verstappen has scored points on five of his eight appearances at the circuit. His other three races here resulted in DNFs, retiring on debut in 2015 and failing to finish with mechanical issues in both 2022 and 2024.
2015 is the only time to date that the Dutchman has failed to out-qualify his team-mate in Melbourne. Verstappen has qualified in the top five at all of the last seven Australian Grands Prix, securing his first front row at Albert Park in 2022 and his first pole position in 2023. He took pole again in 2024. 2019 marked the first time that Verstappen finished in a better position than where he started from at Albert Park.
MAX VERSTAPPEN’S AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX HISTORY
Quali Battle |
Qualified |
Grid |
Finished |
Pos Change |
|
2015 |
LOST |
12 |
11 |
DNF |
– |
2016 |
WON |
5 |
5 |
10 |
-5 |
2017 |
WON |
5 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
2018 |
WON |
4 |
4 |
6 |
-2 |
2019 |
WON |
4 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
2022 |
WON |
2 |
2 |
DNF |
– |
2023 |
WON |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2024 |
WON |
1 |
1 |
DNF |
– |
🇦🇺 Liam LAWSON
This will be Liam Lawson’s first outing at Albert Park.
🇬🇧 Lando NORRIS
Lando Norris scored at the Australian Grand Prix for the first time in 2022 with a fifth place finish. His previous appearance here was on his Formula 1 debut, in 2019, where he finished 12th. He scored more points at Albert Park in 2023, this time finishing sixth, before finishing on the Australian Grand Prix podium for the first time in 2024 with a third place finish.
2023 is the only time in his four appearances that Norris has not reached Q3 at the Australian Grand Prix. His best qualifying result here is fourth, recorded in 2022 and 2024 – though he started third in 2024 following a grid penalty for Sergio Perez.
Norris is yet to be out-qualified by a team-mate at the track. He gained seven positions from where he started at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix. It was the first time he gained places in a race at Albert Park.
LANDO NORRIS’ AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX HISTORY
Quali Battle |
Qualified |
Grid |
Finished |
Pos Change |
|
2019 |
WON |
8 |
8 |
12 |
-4 |
2022 |
WON |
4 |
4 |
5 |
-1 |
2023 |
WON |
13 |
13 |
6 |
7 |
2024 |
WON |
4 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
🇦🇺 Oscar PIASTRI
On his maiden home race appearance at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri scored the first points of his Formula 1 career with an eighth place finish.
He became the third Australian driver, after Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo, to start his home event in Melbourne since the circuit joined the calendar in 1996. Piastri scored points despite being eliminated in Q1 and qualifying 16th.
One year later, at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix, Piastri reached Q3 and qualified sixth – ten positions better than in 2023. Starting fifth on the grid after a grid penalty for Sergio Perez, Piastri made up one place in the race to finish fourth – equalling the best result for an Australian driver on home soil in F1 history.
Can Piastri go one better and finish on the podium – or even win – at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix?
OSCAR PIASTRI’S AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX HISTORY
Quali Battle |
Qualified |
Grid |
Finished |
Pos Change |
|
2023 |
LOST |
16 |
16 |
8 |
8 |
2024 |
LOST |
6 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
🇬🇧 Lewis HAMILTON
Lewis Hamilton took pole position at every single Australian Grand Prix between 2014 and 2019, but won the event only once in that time, in 2015. He retired in 2014 and finished as runner-up in every Australian Grand Prix from 2016 to 2019.
Hamilton’s fourth place in 2022 marked the first time he did not finish on the podium at Albert Park since 2014. He returned to the runner-up spot for the fifth time in the previous six Australian Grands Prix in 2023 before failing to finish in 2024.
Hamilton has had four further podium finishes at the track, including a win in 2008, and third place on debut in 2007. 2024 and 2014 are the only occasions that Hamilton has retired in Australia, though he was also disqualified in 2009 after he and the McLaren team were found to have been lying to race stewards.
2009, 2010 and 2024 are the only seasons that Hamilton has failed to reach Q3 at the Australian Grand Prix, while 2007, 2010, 2023 and 2024 are the only times that he has been out-qualified by a team-mate at Albert Park.
In 2022, Hamilton finished fourth having started fifth. It was the first time he started the Australian Grand Prix from outside of the top three grid slots since 2010 and the first time since then that he finished the race in a better position than where he had started. He gained one position from his starting spot again in 2023.
LEWIS HAMILTON’S AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX HISTORY
Quali Battle |
Qualified |
Grid |
Finished |
Pos Change |
|
2007 |
LOST |
4 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
2008 |
WON |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2009 |
– |
15 |
18 |
DSQ |
– |
2010 |
LOST |
11 |
11 |
6 |
5 |
2011 |
WON |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
2012 |
WON |
1 |
1 |
3 |
-2 |
2013 |
WON |
3 |
3 |
5 |
-2 |
2014 |
WON |
1 |
1 |
DNF |
– |
2015 |
WON |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2016 |
WON |
1 |
1 |
2 |
-1 |
2017 |
WON |
1 |
1 |
2 |
-1 |
2018 |
WON |
1 |
1 |
2 |
-1 |
2019 |
WON |
1 |
1 |
2 |
-1 |
2022 |
WON |
5 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
2023 |
LOST |
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
2024 |
LOST |
11 |
11 |
DNF |
– |
🇲🇨 Charles LECLERC
Charles Leclerc recorded a Grand Slam at the 2022 Australian Grand Prix, winning the race from pole position, setting the fastest lap and leading every lap on his way to victory. He had picked up points in Australia for the first time in 2019, on his Ferrari debut, where he finished fifth. In 2024, he recorded a second podium finish at the track, finishing as runner-up to team-mate Carlos Sainz.
Leclerc has failed to score on two visits to Albert Park. In 2018, on his Formula 1 debut with Sauber, he finished in 13th. That’s the only year in which Leclerc has been eliminated in Q1 at the track, qualifying 18th.
Leclerc recorded his first DNF at the Australian Grand Prix in 2023. He had qualified in seventh place – his worst qualifying result at the track since his debut.
In his five Australian Grand Prix appearances to date, 2022 is the only year in which Leclerc has out-qualified his team-mate.
CHARLES LECLERC’S AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX HISTORY
Quali Battle |
Qualified |
Grid |
Finished |
Pos Change |
|
2018 |
LOST |
18 |
18 |
13 |
5 |
2019 |
LOST |
5 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
2022 |
WON |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2023 |
LOST |
7 |
7 |
DNF |
– |
2024 |
LOST |
5 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
🇬🇧 George RUSSELL
On his second appearance at Albert Park in 2022, George Russell picked up his first points at the track with a podium finish. Those remain the only points he has scored at the Australian Grand Prix.
On his F1 debut in 2019, Russell out-qualified his team-mate and lined up 19th on the grid in the uncompetitive Williams. He gained three positions in the race, thanks to three drivers retiring, and finished 16th, ahead of his team-mate.
Russell again finished ahead of his team-mate in 2022, but failed to out-qualify him. Nevertheless, he reached Q3, qualifying in sixth place. He again gained three positions from where he started in the Grand Prix.
In each of the last two seasons, Russell has retired from the Australian Grand Prix. He qualified on the front row in 2023, lining up ahead of his Mercedes team-mate. On the 18th lap, he pulled off on the main straight and retured with an expired engine failure.
In 2024, after reaching Q3 for a third consecutive season, Russell retired on the final lap of the race. He crashed out after running wide while battling with Fernando Alonso over sixth place.
GEORGE RUSSELL’S AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX HISTORY
Quali Battle |
Qualified |
Grid |
Finished |
Pos Change |
|
2019 |
WON |
19 |
19 |
16 |
3 |
2022 |
LOST |
6 |
6 |
13 |
-7 |
2023 |
WON |
2 |
2 |
DNF |
– |
2024 |
WON |
7 |
7 |
DNF |
– |
🇮🇹 Kimi ANTONELLI
Kimi Antonelli qualified on the front row for the Formula 2 Feature Race over the 2024 Australian Grand Prix weekend. While he finished fourth in the Feature Race, he failed to finish the Saturday Sprint Race.
🇪🇸 Fernando ALONSO
Fernando Alonso finished in the top five in every Australian Grand Prix between 2004 and 2014, winning the 2006 race and recording a further four podium finishes. Until 2016, Alonso held a 100% finish rate at the Australian Grand Prix – but he has since recorded two retirements here. He has not led a lap at the circuit since 2013.
After skipping the 2015 race due to injury, Alonso suffered a heavy crash in the 2016 event after colliding with the rear of Esteban Gutierrez’s Haas. In 2017, the Spaniard retired just seven laps from the end with a broken floor. Aside from his DNFs, there are only two other Albert Park races in which he has failed to score: his F1 debut here in 2001 and 2022, where he finished 17th.
Alonso returned to the Australian Grand Prix podium in 2023 for the first time in a decade, finishing in third place with Aston Martin. In 2024, Alonso finished sixth on track but was demoted to eighth in the final order having been handed a 20-second time penalty for “potentially dangerous driving” during an incident that saw George Russell crash out of the race on the final lap.
Alonso has never taken pole at Albert Park, with a best qualifying result of second on his McLaren debut in 2007. In his last 14 races at the track, he has been out-qualified only three times – by Felipe Massa in 2013, by Esteban Ocon in 2022 and by Lance Stroll in 2024.
2022 marked the first time Alonso reached Q3 here since 2014. He has now reached Q3 in all of the last three seasons. He qualified fourth in 2023 – his best qualifying result in Australia since 2010.
FERNANDO ALONSO’S AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX HISTORY
Quali Battle |
Qualified |
Grid |
Finished |
Pos Change |
|
2001 |
WON |
19 |
19 |
12 |
7 |
2003 |
WON |
10 |
10 |
7 |
3 |
2004 |
WON |
5 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
2005 |
LOST |
13 |
13 |
3 |
10 |
2006 |
LOST |
3 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2007 |
WON |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
2008 |
WON |
12 |
11 |
4 |
7 |
2009 |
WON |
12 |
10 |
5 |
5 |
2010 |
WON |
3 |
3 |
4 |
-1 |
2011 |
WON |
5 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
2012 |
WON |
12 |
12 |
5 |
7 |
2013 |
LOST |
5 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
2014 |
WON |
5 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
2016 |
WON |
12 |
11 |
DNF |
– |
2017 |
WON |
13 |
12 |
DNF |
– |
2018 |
WON |
11 |
10 |
5 |
5 |
2022 |
LOST |
10 |
10 |
17 |
-7 |
2023 |
WON |
4 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
2024 |
LOST |
10 |
10 |
8 |
2 |
🇨🇦 Lance STROLL
On his third appearance at the Australian Grand Prix in 2019, Lance Stroll picked up his first points at the circuit. On his Racing Point debut, Stroll finished in ninth place. It followed a DNF at the track in 2017 and a 14th place finish in 2018. He finished 12th in 2022 before recording his best result to date at the circuit in 2023 with fourth place. More points followed in 2024, when he came home in sixth place.
2018 and 2024 are the only seasons in which Stroll has out-qualified a team-mate at the circuit, as well as two of only three times that he has not been eliminated in Q1 at Albert Park. He finally reached Q3 at the track for the first time in 2023, qualifying in sixth position. He reached Q3 again in 2024, this time qualifying ninth.
Stroll failed to set a qualifying time in 2022 after a collision in Q1 with fellow Canadian Nicholas Latifi.
LANCE STROLL’S AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX HISTORY
Quali Battle |
Qualified |
Grid |
Finished |
Pos Change |
|
2017 |
LOST |
19 |
20 |
DNF |
– |
2018 |
WON |
14 |
13 |
14 |
-1 |
2019 |
LOST |
16 |
16 |
9 |
7 |
2022 |
LOST |
20 |
19 |
12 |
7 |
2023 |
LOST |
6 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
2024 |
WON |
9 |
9 |
6 |
3 |
🇫🇷 Pierre GASLY
Pierre Gasly has scored points only once on his five visits to the Australian Grand Prix. On his third Albert Park appearance in 2022, Gasly finished in ninth place, which remains his only top ten result at the track to date.
Gasly failed to finish the first time he raced here in 2018 and recorded another retirement at the track in 2023 in a race-ending collision with his team-mate. His two other finishes here were outside of the points-paying positions. He finished 11th on his Red Bull debut in 2019 and 13th with Alpine in 2024.
Gasly reached Q3 at the Australian Grand Prix for the first time in 2023, qualifying ninth. 2022 is the only other time that he has made it out of Q1 in Melbourne. 2022 and 2023 are the only time that he has out-qualified his team-mate at the track.
PIERRE GASLY’S AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX HISTORY
Quali Battle |
Qualified |
Grid |
Finished |
Pos Change |
|
2018 |
LOST |
20 |
20 |
DNF |
– |
2019 |
LOST |
17 |
17 |
11 |
6 |
2022 |
WON |
11 |
11 |
9 |
2 |
2023 |
LOST |
9 |
9 |
DNF |
– |
2024 |
LOST |
17 |
17 |
13 |
4 |
🇦🇺 Jack DOOHAN
Jack Doohan will make his second Formula 1 appearance at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix, having raced in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2024. Making his home race debut, he last raced at Albert Park in 2023, when Formula 2 made its debut appearance at the venue. After retiring from the Sprint Race, he finished eighth in the Feature Race.
🇫🇷 Esteban OCON
From his five previous Australian Grand Prix appearances, Esteban Ocon has scored points twice. He finished tenth on his first appearance here in 2017, marking the first points-scoring race of his career. He bettered that with seventh place in 2022.
Of his other three appearances at Albert Park, Ocon finished only 12th in 2018, only 16th in 2024 and retired as a result of a collision with his team-mate in the 2023 Australian Grand Prix.
Ocon reached Q3 at Albert Park for the first time in 2022, having been eliminated in Q2 on both previous appearances. He recorded more Q2 exits in 2023 and 2024. He has never been out in Q1 at the track. His eighth place in qualifying for the 2022 Australian Grand Prix marked the first time he out-qualified a team-mate at Albert Park. He out-qualified his team-mate again in 2024.
The Frenchman gained at least one position from where he started on all three of his first Australian Grand Prix finishes. He failed to do so in 2024, where he lost one position from where he started.
ESTEBAN OCON’S GRAND PRIX HISTORY
Quali Battle |
Qualified |
Grid |
Finished |
Pos Change |
|
2017 |
LOST |
14 |
13 |
10 |
3 |
2018 |
LOST |
15 |
14 |
12 |
2 |
2022 |
WON |
8 |
8 |
7 |
1 |
2023 |
LOST |
11 |
11 |
DNF |
– |
2024 |
WON |
15 |
15 |
16 |
-1 |
🇬🇧 Ollie BEARMAN
Ollie Bearman raced at Albert Park in Formula 2 in both 2023 and 2024. His best result in his four race starts at the track in the junior formula was seventh place, recorded in the 2023 Sprint Race. His ninth place in the 2024 Feature Race is his only other top ten result at the track.
🇯🇵 Yuki TSUNODA
From three appearances at Albert Park, Yuki Tsunoda has finished in the points twice. He holds a 100% finish rate at the track, with his 15th place on his first Australian Grand Prix appearance in 2022 being the only time he has failed to score.
Tsunoda out-qualified team-mate Nyck de Vries at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix and gained positions in the race to score his first point at Albert Park with a tenth place finish. One year later, Tsunoda again reached Q3 at the track and out-qualified team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. After qualifying eighth, he gained one position in the race to finish seventh – his best result to date at the Australian Grand Prix.
YUKI TSUNODA’S AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX HISTORY
Quali Battle |
Qualified |
Grid |
Finished |
Pos Change |
|
2022 |
LOST |
13 |
13 |
15 |
-2 |
2023 |
WON |
12 |
12 |
10 |
2 |
2024 |
WON |
8 |
8 |
7 |
1 |
🇫🇷 Isack HADJAR
Isack Hadjar makes his Formula 1 debut at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix. He has previously raced at Albert Park in Formula 2. In 2023, he finished sixth in Sprint Race but only 15th in the Feature Race, after sustaining front wing damage and picking up a penalty.
In 2024, Hadjar crossed the finish line first in the Sprint Race but a 10-second penalty relegated him to sixth in the final result. He went on to win the Feature Race.
🇪🇸 Carlos SAINZ
Just weeks after undergoing surgery for appendicitis, Carlos Sainz made a triumphant F1 return at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix. After starting on the front row, Sainz went on to dominate the race and led home a Ferrari 1-2.
Prior to 2024, Sainz had not had much luck in recent years at the Australian Grand Prix. He retired in both 2019 and 2022. Becoming the first retirement of the season, 2019 was the first time Sainz failed to score at Albert Park. He spun out into the gravel in the early stages in 2022. In 2023, he crossed the finish line fourth but dropped to 12th in the final order after picking up a time penalty for causing a collision.
Sainz scored on all of his first four appearances at Albert Park but never finished in the top seven , with his best result prior to his 2024 win being an eighth place finish with Toro Rosso in 2017.
Sainz has reached Q3 on all but one of his eight visits to Albert Park, the exception being a Q1 exit in 2019. Before his front row start in 2024, his fifth place in 2023 was his only top six qualifying result at the track. 2024 was the first time he gained a position from where he started in any race at this track.
CARLOS SAINZ’S AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX HISTORY
Quali Battle |
Qualified |
Grid |
Finished |
Pos Change |
|
2015 |
WON |
8 |
7 |
9 |
-2 |
2016 |
LOST |
7 |
7 |
9 |
-2 |
2017 |
WON |
8 |
8 |
8 |
0 |
2018 |
LOST |
9 |
9 |
10 |
-1 |
2019 |
LOST |
18 |
18 |
DNF |
– |
2022 |
LOST |
9 |
9 |
DNF |
– |
2023 |
WON |
5 |
5 |
12 |
-7 |
2024 |
WON |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
🇹🇭 Alex ALBON
Alex Albon made his Formula 1 debut with Toro Rosso at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix. He finished 14th in the race having qualified 13th. Albon out-qualified his team-mate at Albert Park, but failed to finish ahead of him in the race.
In 2022, Albon picked up his first point at Albert Park with a tenth place finish. Aided by an effective alternate strategy, Albon gained ten positions from where he started – the back of the grid – after being disqualified from qualifying due to being unable to provide a fuel sample after the session.
Albon was on course to score again at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix and was running in sixth place when he crashed out, bringing out the red flags. He had reached Q3 for the first time at Albert Park, qualifying eighth and continuing his record of having never been out-qualified by a team-mate in Melbourne.
After Albon crashed heavily in Friday practice, Williams were forced to run only once car at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix. Logan Sargeant’s car was handed over to Albon, who just missed out on points in the race with an 11th place finish.
ALEX ALBON’S AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX HISTORY
Quali Battle |
Qualified |
Grid |
Finished |
Pos Change |
|
2019 |
WON |
13 |
13 |
14 |
-1 |
2022 |
WON |
16 |
20 |
10 |
10 |
2023 |
WON |
8 |
8 |
DNF |
– |
2024 |
– |
12 |
12 |
11 |
1 |
🇩🇪 Nico HULKENBERG
Nico Hulkenberg returned to Albert Park in 2023 having last raced here in 2019. In four of his previous five Australian Grand Prix appearances, Hulkenberg finished in seventh place. He did so once again in 2023, recording his best result of the 2023 season and finishing seventh at Albert Park for the fifth time in his last six outings. More points followed in 2024, where he finished ninth.
Hulkenberg’s best result here is sixth place, in 2016, but that is the only other time aside from his seventh places and 2024 that he has scored at the circuit. Hulkenberg failed to finish on his first two Australian Grand Prix appearances in 2010 and 2012, before failing to even start in 2013.
The German has reached the final part of qualifying five times from his 11 total appearances, with a best result of seventh in 2014. In 2024, Hulkenberg was eliminated in Q1 at the track for the first time and was out-qualified by his team-mate for only the third time – after his Albert Park debut in 2010 and in 2016.
Hulkenberg has never lost a position from where he started in any of his eight finishes at Albert Park. He gained seven positions from where he started in 2024 – a personal best for most places gained at the track.
NICO HULKENBERG’S AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX HISTORY
Quali Battle |
Qualified |
Grid |
Finished |
Pos Change |
|
2010 |
LOST |
15 |
15 |
DNF |
– |
2012 |
WON |
9 |
9 |
DNF |
– |
2013 |
WON |
11 |
11 |
DNS |
– |
2014 |
WON |
7 |
7 |
6 |
1 |
2015 |
WON |
14 |
13 |
7 |
6 |
2016 |
LOST |
10 |
10 |
7 |
3 |
2017 |
WON |
12 |
11 |
11 |
0 |
2018 |
WON |
8 |
7 |
7 |
0 |
2019 |
WON |
11 |
11 |
7 |
4 |
2023 |
WON |
10 |
10 |
7 |
3 |
2024 |
LOST |
16 |
16 |
9 |
7 |
🇧🇷 Gabriel BORTOLETO
Gabriel Bortoleto will make his Formula 1 debut at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix. Albert Park is a circuit at which the Brazilian has won before, having claimed victory in the Formula 3 Feature Race in 2023. Despite winning the championship that year and that being only the fourth race of the year, it would prove to be his final F3 win. Bortoleto had less luck in Melbourne in F2 in 2024, retiring from both races.
