The 2025 Formula 1 season will begin next weekend with the Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne. This year marks the return of the Australian GP as the season opener, something that hasn't happened since 2019. Historically, in four of the last ten editions, the winner of the first race of the year has ended up taking the title, like Lewis Hamilton in 2015, Nico Rosberg in 2016, and Max Verstappen in 2023 and 2024.
For much of the 21st century, the Australian Grand Prix used to be the first race of the season but lost that status since 2020. In a season marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, the first GP took place in June in Austria in 2020. Interestingly, in the years 2021 to 2024, when Max Verstappen was crowned champion, the first race of the year took place in Bahrain.
As for the last ten winners of the inaugural Formula 1 races: - In Australia: Lewis Hamilton in 2015, Nico Rosberg in 2016, Sebastian Vettel in 2017 and 2018, and Valtteri Bottas in 2019. - In Austria: Valtteri Bottas in 2020. - In Bahrain: Lewis Hamilton in 2021, Charles Leclerc in 2022, and Max Verstappen in 2023 and 2024.
