Valtteri Bottas won the 2019 Australian Grand Prix season opener, marking notable debuts for Lando Norris and George Russell and Robert Kubica's return to F1.
Key Facts
- Race winner
- Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
- Pole position
- Lewis Hamilton (8th pole at this venue, record-equalling)
- Circuit
- Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne
- Championship round
- Round 1 of 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship
- Australian GP all-time count
- 84th race in combined Australian GP history
- Last race on original layout
- Final race on the 1996-era Albert Park configuration
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship opened in Melbourne, with Lewis Hamilton as defending World Drivers' Champion and Mercedes as defending Constructors' Champions. Hamilton secured pole position, equalling the record of eight poles at a single Grand Prix venue, setting expectations for another Mercedes-dominated season.
Held on 17 March 2019 at Albert Park Circuit, the race saw Valtteri Bottas convert from second on the grid to victory ahead of teammate Hamilton, with Max Verstappen finishing third. The event also marked the Formula One debuts of Lando Norris and George Russell, and Robert Kubica's return to F1 after nearly nine years away following a serious rallying accident.
Bottas's victory gave Mercedes an early championship lead, while Norris and Russell began careers that would later see both become race winners or world champions. The race was the last Australian Grand Prix held as the season opener until 2025, and the final event run on the Albert Park layout used since 1996, with subsequent editions either cancelled or run on a revised circuit.