The 2020 Formula 1 campaign gets underway in Melbourne with the Australian Grand Prix taking place on Sunday, March 15, and BettingPro.com has been looking ahead to the season-opening race Down Under.

Australian Grand Prix Predictions & Tips

The 2020 Formula 1 season gets underway this week with the traditional curtain-raiser in Melbourne and once again there will be a target on the back of defending world champion Lewis Hamilton who, along with Mercedes, have dominated this sport in recent years. Last season Hamilton ran away with Drivers’ championship, winning it with three races to go for the second season running, but will it be more of the same in 2020 or can Ferrari or Red Bull finally close the gap?

From what we have seen during winter testing, it is going to be more of the same. Red Bull showed plenty of signs of promise in Barcelona, but it was Mercedes who set the standard at the Circuit de Catalunya and that new dual-axis steering system of theirs, which allows the driver to narrow the alignment of the front wheels for more speed on the straights, has certainly got the rest of the field looking on with envy. They have the best car and the best driver, so it would be a sizeable surprise of they do not retain the Constructors’ Championship and Hamilton does not become a seven-time world champion, moving level with the legendary Michael Schumacher.

The question is, will Hamilton and Mercedes make a flying start? Mercedes did occupy top spot on the podium here 12 months ago, but it was Valtteri Bottas who took the chequered flag as he finished over 20 seconds ahead of Hamilton. It marked the fourth straight season in which the British ace failed to win the Australian Grand Prix, and it would not be unfair to say that Albert Park may be one of his least happy hunting grounds.

Hamilton has dominated F1 in recent years, but his last victory Down Under came back in 2015 and prior to that he had only won this race once, back in 2008. He has repeatedly shone in qualifying though, claiming pole position in each of the last six years, so he has shown that he can master this track over one lap. This could be the year in which he finally masters it for the duration of entire race to win Down Under for only the third time in his career, so backing him to claim pole position and the race win has to be my first selection for the new season.

Australian Grand Prix UK Time: What Time Will Race Start?

The 2020 Formula 1 season gets underway in traditional fashion with the Australian Grand Prix taking place in Melbourne. Practice gets underway on Friday, March 13 with two sessions at 01:00 GMT and 06:30 GMT respectively, with the final practice session being held at 03:00 GMT on Saturday, March 14. The serious stuff begins at 06:00 GMT on Saturday morning with qualifying for the race, and the race itself is scheduled to get underway at 05:10 GMT on Sunday, March 15.

Australian Grand Prix: Circuit Guide

The Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit has been hosting the Australian Grand Prix since 1996. A street circuit that surrounds Albert Park Lake, one lap is just over three miles long and it is considered one of the least-challenging circuits on the calendar due to is fast and undemanding corners. However, there are also very few straights on this track so chances to overtake are limited. It has been a popular track for drivers from the United Kingdom and Germany since returning to the F1 schedule.

A British driver has taken the chequered flag on nine occasions, with a German driver also winning nine times, and the most successful driver in the circuit’s history is Michael Schumacher who has won four instalments of this famous race. In terms of active drivers, Sebastian Vettel leads the way with three successes, having followed up his win in 2011 with back-to-back victories in 2017 and 2018.

Location: Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia
Number Of Laps: 58
Lap Length: 3.296 miles
Lap Record: Michael Schumacher, 1 minute 24.125 seconds (2004).

Australian Grand Prix: What Happened Last Season

Ferrari’s dominance of the season-opening race, the Australian Grand Prix was brought to an end in 2019 as Valtteri Bottas made a flying start to the season, finishing well clear of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to become the first driver to win a bonus point for the fastest lap since for 60 years! Hamilton, who went on to be crowned world champion, had to settle for second place as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ensured there would be no Ferrari driver on the podium.

2019 Results: 1 Valtteri Bottas, 2 Lewis Hamilton, 3 Max Verstappen.

Australian Grand Prix: Winners

YEAR	WINNER	TEAM	CIRCUIT
1928	Arthur Waite	Austin	Phillip Island
1929	Arthur Terdich	Bugatti	Phillip Island
1930	Bill Thompson	Bugatti	Phillip Island
1931	Carl Junker	Bugatti	Phillip Island
1932	Bill Thompson	Bugatti	Phillip Island
1933	Bill Thompson	Riley	Phillip Island
1934	Bob Lea-Wright	Singer	Phillip Island
1935	Les Murphy	MG	Phillip Island
1937	Les Murphy	MG	Victor Harbor
1938	Peter Whitehead	ERA	Bathurst
1939	Alan Tomlinson	MG	Lobethal
1947	Bill Murray	MG	Bathurst
1948	Frank Pratt	BMW	Point Cook
1949	John Crouch	Delahaye	Leyburn
1950	Doug Whiteford	Ford	Nuriootpa
1951	Warwick Pratley	GRS-Ford	Narrogin
1952	Doug Whiteford	Talbot-Lago	Bathurst
1953	Doug Whiteford	Talbot-Lago	Albert Park
1954	Lex Davison	HWM-Jaguar	Southport
1955	Jack Brabham	Cooper-Bristol	Port Wakefield
1956	Stirling Moss	Maserati	Albert Park
1957	Lex Davison/Bill Patterson	Ferrari	Caversham
1958	Lex Davison	Ferrari	Bathurst
1959	Stan Jones	Maserati	Longford
1960	Alex Mildren	Cooper-Maserati	Lowood
1961	Lex Davison	Cooper-Climax	Mallala
1962	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	Caversham
1963	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Climax	Warwick Farm
1964	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Climax	Sandown
1965	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	Longford
1966	Graham Hill	BRM	Lakeside
1967	Jackie Stewart	BRM	Warwick Farm
1968	Jim Clark	Lotus-Cosworth	Sandown
1969	Chris Amon	Ferrari	Lakeside
1970	Frank Matich	McLaren-Repco/Holden	Warwick Farm
1971	Frank Matich	Matich-Repco/Holden	Warwick Farm
1972	Graham McRae	Leda-Chevrolet	Sandown
1973	Graham McRae	McRae-Chevrolet	Sandown
1974	Max Stewart	Lola-Chevrolet	Oran Park
1975	Max Stewart	Lola-Chevrolet	Surfers Paradise
1976	John Goss	Match-Repco/Holden	Sandown
1977	Warwick Brown	Lola-Chevrolet	Oran Park
1978	Graham McRae	McRae-Chevrolet	Sandown
1979	Johnnie Walker	Lola-Chevrolet	Wanneroo
1980	Alan Jones	Williams-Cosworth	Calder
1981	Roberto Moreno	Ralt-Ford	Calder
1982	Alain Prost	Ralt-Ford	Calder
1983	Roberto Moreno	Ralt-Ford	Calder
1984	Roberto Moreno	Ralt-Ford	Calder
1985	Keke Rosberg	Williams-Honda	Adelaide
1986	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Adelaide
1987	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	Adelaide
1988	Alain Prost	McLaren-Honda	Adelaide
1989	Thierry Boutsen	Williams-Honda	Adelaide
1990	Nelson Piquet	Bennetton-Ford	Adelaide
1991	Ayrton Senna	McLaren-Honda	Adelaide
1992	Gerhard Berger	McLaren-Honda	Adelaide
1993	Ayrton Senna	McLaren-Ford	Adelaide
1994	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Renault	Adelaide
1995	Damon Hill	Williams-Renault	Adelaide
1996	Damon Hill	Williams-Renault	Adelaide
1997	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	Albert Park
1998	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	Albert Park
1999	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	Albert Park
2000	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Albert Park
2001	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Albert Park
2002	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Albert Park
2003	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	Albert Park
2004	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Albert Park
2005	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	Albert Park
2006	Fernando Alonso	Renault	Albert Park
2007	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	Albert Park
2008	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	Albert Park
2009	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes	Albert Park
2010	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	Albert Park
2011	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	Albert Park
2012	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	Albert Park
2013	Kimi Raikkonen	Lotus-Renault	Albert Park
2014	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	Albert Park
2015	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	Albert Park
2016	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	Albert Park
2017	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	Albert Park
2018	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	Albert Park
2019	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	Albert Park

 

Australian Grand Prix Predictions & Tips