Formula 1 in Melbourne: who's the favourite to win?

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There's a reason why F1 is often called a 'circus'.

There's a reason why F1 is often called a 'circus'.

Max Verstappen remains the man to beat as Formula 1 hits Melbourne this weekend (March 22-24), for the third race of the season.

Max Verstappen.
Verstappen might be looking for something a bit faster around Albert Park.

Red Bull was dominant with a 1-2 at the last round in Saudi Arabia, but Ferrari also picked up pace. The Prancing Horse will be looking to make further gains in front of the Australian crowd at Albert Park.

According to F1.com, Verstappen  is firm favourite by 188BET data, with team-mate Sergio Perez second. Ferrari's Charles LeClerc is third.

Plenty of attention in Melbourne will be on the local heroes: Daniel Ricciardo is back on track after having to sit out the Australian GP last year, while Oscar Piastri scored his first points here last year - so he'll be looking to make a big impression.

Five Australian Grand Prix Facts 

  • This weekend’s race is the 38th FIA Formula One World Championship Australian Grand Prix. The race ran consecutively between 1985 and 2019 before cancellation in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between 1985 and 1995 the race was held at the Adelaide Street Circuit. 
  • Michael Schumacher is the most successful driver at the Australian GP with four victories (2000-02, 2004), while Jenson Button and Sebastian Vette; are next on the list with three each. Button won in 2009 with Brawn GP and then with McLaren in 2010 and 2012. Vettel stood on the top step in 2011 with Red Bull and in 2017-18 with Ferrari. 
  • Five current drivers have won the Australian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso won the race with Renault in 2006, while Lewis Hamilton has two wins in 2008 with McLaren and 2015 with Mercedes. Valtteri Bottas also won with Mercedes in 2019, with Chares Leclerc winning with Ferrari in 2022. Max Verstappen won his first Australian GP last year. 
  • McLaren is the most successful team in Australia, with 11 victories, one ahead of Ferrari. Williams are next with five wins and Mercedes has four. 
  • Daniel Ricciardo has the most fastest laps of the current drivers with two, while Kimi Raikkonen leads overall with six. Ricciardo, however, has never finished better than fourth in a race, which is still a record he shares with Mark Webber for being the best result for an Australian driver at their home race.