What Happened the Last Time F1 Went to Australia?

The elite form of Motorsport is finally back in the land down under. After a gap of two years, F1 to make a scintillating comeback in the second week of April. Australia didn’t host the event following the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic. But with the pandemic under control now, Australian Grand Prix is all set to make a grand comeback.

The Albert Park now has a new face. The changed get-up has been giving the fans excitement for the last couple of weeks. The sense of energy started coming up life when round 2 at Saudi Arabia got over. F1 is in Australia for round 3, and can they live up to their expectations?

As the Australian Grand Prix coming closer, how about we take a look back at the last time F1 was there in Daniel Ricciardo’s country? What happened when Australian Grand Prix took place here in Melbourne in 2019? Let’s take a look.

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Australia usually kicked off the season. At least that’s what happened for the last few years (except in 2020 and 2021). The event took place from 15-17 March. The Formula 1 Rolex Grand Prix was the official name of the event. It was the first race of the season and the excitement was at its peak.

Let’s dig deeper into the 2019 Australian Grand Prix

Mercedes arrived to start the 2019 season on a high. After the German team picked up both Constructor’s Championship and Driver’s Championship in 2018, Mercedes was rolling high. To start with, Lewis Hamilton picked up the pole position at Albert Park, while his teammate Valtteri Bottas qualified in P2. Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel qualified in P3 followed by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in P4.

As the race started, Bottas got the better of Hamilton as they went to turn 1. The two Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc were in P3 and P5. They were divided by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who was in P4 going into turn 1.

It certainly wasn’t a great outing for Daniel Ricciardo in his home country. The man down qualified in P12 in his Renault. As the race started, he tried to get past Sergio Perez of Racing Point. In trying to do so, he moved onto the grass and broke his front wing. Even after pitting, it continued to be a problem for Danny Ric. Ultimately, the Honey Badger had to retire from the race following the incident in turn 1.

Who came out on top at Albert Park?

As the race went on, Valtteri kept his lead from Hamilton. It was mostly a 1-stop race. After 58 laps, the race came to an end as the Finnish International, Valtteri took the chequered flag. He was followed by his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who came home after 20 seconds.

In the final podium place, Max Verstappen came home after Hamilton. The Dutchman got the better of Sebastian Vettel to finish in P3 while he chased the 2018 Champion Lewis Hamilton to finish inside 3 seconds. The two Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc finished in P4 and P5.

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The Melbourne race turned out to be a good one for Haas. The American team picked up 8 points when Kevin Magnussen finished in P6 behind the two Ferraris. The Danish international started in P7 and finished a place up. He was followed by Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg, who finished in P7. Then came Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen in P8. Lance Stroll of Racing Point finished in P9 while Daniil Kvyat of AlphaTauri came home in P10. That was all for the point finishes.

As for the underperformers, a couple of drivers couldn’t live up to their expectations. McLaren’s Lando Norris finished outside points when he came home in P12 after starting the race from P8. Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly is another driver who finished outside points in P11 despite having a good car. The Frenchman also had a bad qualifying session as he started the race from P17.

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To have the cherry on top, Valtteri Bottas took the extra one point as he had the fastest lap in the race. However, not everyone had their best outing in Melbourne that day. Apart from Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren’s Carlos Sainz and Haas’s Romain Grosjean had their race status as DNF. Ricciardo retired during lap 31, while Grosjean and Sainz retired during laps 32 and 11, respectively.

As the excitements pile up, the set-ups look entirely different from that of 2019. Can Mercedes magically pull off another 1-2? Can Max Verstappen pick up his second race win in 2022? Or will it be Ferraris, who will dominate the race? We’ll find out in a week’s time.