Australian Grand Prix

The Australian Grand Prix 2021

Where teams often don't show their true pace during the winter break, the Australian Grand Prix has also become an interesting yardstick. The many curves and the character of a semi-street circuit mean that overtaking is quite a challenge in Daniel Ricciardo's home race. 

Albert Park Circuit

The Albert Park circuit is a fast and technical track, and the first few corners of the F1 season can often see some accidents, such as Martin Brundle’s back in 1996.

The start-finish straight acts as the first DRS zone, with the straight following the first two turns the second. The run after turns three and four are tight and difficult to master, as shown by Pastor Maldonado’s big crash on the final lap here in 2012, slamming his Williams into the wall whilst trying to catch Fernando Alonso for fifth place.

A few flowing corners follow before the tricky Turn 9, where it is imperative to get a good exit heading into the quick left-right of 10 and 11.

The lap ends with a run of right angled turns that lead back onto the start-finish straight. One of the major criticisms of the track in recent times has been the lack of overtaking. In 2018, there were only five on track overtakes during the entire 58-lap race.

Race history

The second race in Australia was one of the most memorable in Formula One history. It staged the final race of the season and any of Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet or Alain Prost went into the weekend with a chance of winning the world championship.

Mansell took pole and lost places at the start but managed to get himself into a position where the title would be his. On lap 63, Mansell’s tyre violently exploded, forcing him out. Prost led home Piquet and took the title, his second of four.

In 1993, we saw the final time either Ayrton Senna or Alain Prost stood on the podium, Senna first in his McLaren and Prost second in his Williams. It was Prost’s final race and Senna was killed early the next season, before he could score a point for Williams, after replacing Prost for 1994.

However, possibly the most famous and controversial moment in Adelaide came in 1994, when Michael Schumacher deliberately swerved into Damon Hill as Hill was passing, forcing them both to retire, handing Schumacher the title, his first of seven.

Plenty of fans felt Hill had been hard done by, calling for Schumacher to be disqualified, but nothing came of it, and the moment will live on as one of the most controversial moves in the history of F1.

Recently, Melbourne has given us the first taste of what is to come during the season, but it hasn’t always been accurate. Only three times in the past nine years has the winner gone on to win the title.

Will the winner of this year’s Australian Grand Prix go on to win the title?