Feature
Australian Grand Prix: Race facts and stats
After Valtteri Bottas dominated proceedings at Melbourne’s Albert Park, here are the key stat take-aways from the 2019 Australian Grand Prix.
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Every time a team has finished one-two in Melbourne – as Mercedes did in 2019 – the winning driver has claimed the championship and the team has won the constructors’. And that’s not happened once or twice – it’s happened a full seven times!
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Bottas wins the first race of 2019, his last race win having come at the final race of 2017 – and with no wins in the middle.
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Bottas also celebrates his win six years to the day that he made his Grand Prix debut with Williams in 2013.
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Bottas’ winning margin of 20.8 seconds was bigger than any we saw in 2018.
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It was the fourth time in as many years that Lewis Hamilton has taken pole position in Australia only to finish second.
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Hamilton has now failed to win in Australia for the last six years despite having consecutive pole positions – establishing a new, and unwanted, record!
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It’s the first time Max Verstappen has ever secured a podium at Albert Park, and the first time a non-Mercedes or Ferrari driver has appeared on the podium since 2015. It’s also the first time Vettel, and Ferrari, have failed to be on the Melbourne podium since 2015.
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Verstappen's third place also gave Honda their first podium finish since the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix, when they were a fully fledged manufacturer as well as an engine maker.
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Kevin Magnussen was a strong P6 for Haas, giving the team their first finish here since 2016.
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Carlos Sainz failed to score in Melbourne for the first time in his career on his McLaren debut.
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Daniil Kvyat claimed the final points position for Toro Rosso. The Russian has scored every time he’s driven for the Italian team in Melbourne, but failed to score here the two times he raced at Albert Park for Red Bull.