(Reuters) – Formula One statistics for Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, the third race of the season.
Lap distance: 5.275km. Total distance: 305.950km (58 laps)
The most recent race at Albert Park was in 2019 and the circuit has been shortened by 28 metres since, with two turns taken out and seven corners modified. It is now considered a new layout.
Start time: 0500 GMT (1500 local)
AUSTRALIA
No Australian driver has ever won a home grand prix.
There have been 13 Australian F1 drivers since 1950 and two world champions — Jack Brabham and Alan Jones. McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo is the only Australian in Sunday’s race.
This year’s race will be the 25th to be held at Albert Park, and 36th Australian Grand Prix. It was held in Adelaide, as the final race of the year, between 1985 and 1995.
Four current drivers have won before in Melbourne and three are world champions: Lewis Hamilton (2008, 2015), Sebastian Vettel (2011, 2017, 2018) and Fernando Alonso (2006). The odd man out is Valtteri Bottas, winner for Mercedes in 2019.
Aston Martin’s Vettel is starting his season this weekend after missing the first two races due to COVID-19.
Hamilton has been on pole in Melbourne for the last six editions and eight times in total (2008, 2012, 2014 to 2019), a record for the race.
The lowest starter to win was Britain’s Eddie Irvine from 11th in 1999 for Ferrari. Fifteen of the 24 races in Melbourne have been won from the front row.
RACE WINS
Hamilton has a record 103 career victories from 290 starts, the most recent being in Saudi Arabia last December.
Ferrari have won 239 races since 1950, McLaren 183, Mercedes 124, Williams 114 and Red Bull 76.
Ferrari have made their best start to a season since 2004.
POLE POSITION
Hamilton has a record 103 career poles, most recently qualifying fastest in Saudi Arabia last year.
POINTS
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is 12 points clear of team mate Carlos Sainz after two races. Sainz has finished the last 17 races in the points.
Haas have scored in successive races for the first time since 2019.
Aston Martin and Williams have yet to score a point in 2022.
MILESTONE
Mercedes are chasing their 125th win in Formula One.
Four drivers are racing in Australia for the first time — Nicholas Latifi (Williams), Mick Schumacher (Haas), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) and Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo).
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Toby Davis)
