2023 F1 Australian GP: 7 Interesting Stats and Facts about the race

Formula 1 heads to Australia this weekend for the third race of the 2023 season. The race, which officially became part of the F1 calendar in 1985, was initially held in Adelaide before moving to Albert Park in Melbourne.

After starting the 2023 season with victories in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Red Bull Racing will be aiming to make it three in three at Albert Park on Sunday (April 2). The Milton Keynes-based team, however, have struggled for success Down Under, despite dominating the sport in the recent past.

Their only win in Melbourne came in 2011 through Sebastian Vettel, with Lewis Hamilton and Vitaly Petrov completing the podium.

Last year, it was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who won the Australian GP and he will be hoping to repeat that result this year. It won't be an easy task as the Monegasque will have competition not just from Red Bull and Mercedes but also from Aston Martin, and especially Fernando Alonso.

On that note, here are seven facts about the Australian GP at Albert Park ahead of the 2023 edition:

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#1 Most wins - Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher has won the Australian GP four times - 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004. Among active drivers, only Lewis Hamilton has won the race multiple times (2008 and 2015). If he emerges victorious this year, he will join the likes of Vettel and Jenson Button with three wins Down Under.

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#2 Back-to-back triumphs

Michael Schumacher also holds the record for the most consecutive wins - 2000 to 2002 - at Albert Park. Vettel and Button are the only other drivers to have won back-to-back races at Albert Park to date.

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#3 Only four active Melbourne winners in 2023 F1 grid

Of the 2023 drivers, only four have previously won in Australia — Hamilton, Fernando Alonso (2006), Valtteri Bottas (2019), and Leclerc.

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#4 Qualifying strong

Hamilton has taken the most poles (8) in Melbourne. He and Leclerc are the only drivers on the 2023 grid to have been on pole Down Under.

Additionally, Mercedes and Ferrari are the teams with the most poles (6) in Australia.

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#5 Wins from pole position

To date, pole setters have won the race ten times in Australia, with the latest being Leclerc last year. The Ferrari driver also holds the record for the fastest lap (1:17.868 in 2022) at Albert Park.

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#6 The Grand Chelem

The Grand Chelem, or the Grand Slam, in Formula 1 is when a driver takes the pole position, leads every lap while registering the fastest lap, and wins the race. Only two drivers have achieved this feat at Albert Park - Schumacher (2004) and Leclerc (2022).

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#7 Leading from the front

Though the Australian GP has been part of F1 since 1985, only four drivers have dominated at Albert Park by leading all the laps on their way to victory - Schumacher, Leclerc, Button and Nico Rosberg.