The 2025 Formula One season gets underway in Australia on March 16 so ahead of the new campaign SportsCasting takes a look at the 10 best season-openers in F1 history.
The 10 Best F1 Season-Openers In History
10 – 1997 Australian Grand Prix
Jacques Villeneuve was expected to dominate the opening race of 1997 after qualifying 1.7 seconds clear of the rest of the field.
That was until Eddie Irvine’s Ferrari ploughed into him at the first turn and ended both of their races.
The race was then between the McLaren of David Coulthard, Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari and Villeneuve’s Williams teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
Coulthard would take the victory after Schumacher made an unscheduled late fuel stop while Frentzen retired after his brakes dramatically gave up sending him into a spin.
There were other dramatic moments too including Damon Hill’s Arrows breaking down on the formation lap while Jean Alesi retired after he forgot to pit his Benetton and ran out of fuel.
9 – 1993 South African Grand Prix
Formula One’s last visit to South Africa makes the list thanks to a thrilling battle between three all-time greats.
It was Alain Prost in the dominant Williams, against rival Ayrton Senna in his McLaren and the 24-year-old Michael Schumacher in his Benetton.
Prost had pole but dropped behind his rivals to third at the start. He passed Schumacher on Lap 13 before the put pressure on leader Senna.
Prost would eventually take the lead at just before the one-third distance before Schumacher also got past Senna.
Schumacher lost his place to Senna during the tyre stops and then spun out when trying to pass the Brazilian.
A late thunderstorm meant that only five drivers finished the race. Mark Blundell completed the podium behind Prost and Senna.
8 – 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix
Nigel Mansell’s Ferrari was so fragile that he booked an early flight home as he expected not to finish.
Not only did he finish it but he ended up winning the race. This came as a huge surprise against the dominant McLaren pair of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.
Senna’s race was effectively over at the start after a three-way collision involving Mansell’s teammate Gerhard Berger and the Williams of Riccardo Patrese.
Patrese somehow escaped unscathed and held the lead before Mansell worked his way past. Mansell had to pass Patrese a second time after making one extra pit-stop before the Italian retired with a mechanical issue.
Prost struggled with a clutch issue and barely held onto second ahead of Mauricio Guglemin in the March.
The true star was Johnny Herbert who finished a heroic fourth for Benetton. This was despite the fact he could barely walk after suffering threatening leg injuries in a Formula 3000 crash the previous summer.
7 – 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix
The 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix makes the list for the best season-openers in F1 history thanks to an incredible battle between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen for the lead.
Leclerc led from the start ahead of Verstappen but the drama came after the first pit-stops.
Verstappen took the lead at Turn 1 on Lap 17 before Leclerc retook the lead three corners later. They repeated the exchange the following lap before Lap 19 saw Verstappen have a huge lockup as he passed Leclerc at Turn 1.
The Ferrari driver then escaped away as Verstappen had to manage his brake temperatures after his mistake.
Verstappen remained in contention for the win though until late on when both of the Red Bull drivers hit problems.
The Dutchman retired on Lap 54 with power issues, while an engine problem also forced Perez to spin out on the last lap to give Lewis Hamilton the final podium spot behind the Ferrari pair of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Leclerc's eyes were darting all over his rear-view mirrors! 👀
Incredible footage from the Ferrari driver's battle with Verstappen 😵#BahrainGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/MommdvZAql
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 21, 2022
 6 – 1999 Australian Grand Prix
The 1999 Australian Grand Prix was full of twists and turns with only eight drivers reaching the flag.
Michael Schumacher stalled at the start just like he did at the 1998 finale in Japan. So it looked like it would be a straight battle between McLaren teammates Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard.
However, the race turned on its head when Jacques Villeneuve had a huge crash following a rear wing failure.
Coulthard retired behind the safety car with a hydraulics issue, while Hakkinen slowed up just as the race resumed and pulled out with a throttle failure.
Eddie Irvine capitalised to take his first career win. He would go on to mount a shock title challenge after Schumacher broke his leg at the British Grand Prix.
He finished just one second ahead of Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s Jordan, with Ralf Schumacher completing the podium.
1999 – Eddie’s first Ferrari win#OnThisDay Eddie Irvine triumphed at the 1999 Australian Grand Prix, securing his first win for Ferrari. Starting ahead of his teammate Michael Schumacher, who began at the back of the grid, Irvine capitalised when both leading McLarens retired,… pic.twitter.com/PEZc9r5EGU
— Formula One History (@F1History1950) March 7, 2025
5 – 1990 United States Grand Prix
The season-opener of the 1990 F1 season is remembered for the brilliant battle for the lead between Ayrton Senna and Jean Alesi.
Rain in qualifying meant it was a topsy-turvy grid. Pierluigi Martini in the Minardi qualified on the front row behind Gerhard Berger with Andrea de Cesaris’ Dallara and Alesi on the second row. Senna was fifth and Alain Prost only seventh.
It made for an entertaining race as Alesi went from fourth to the lead at the first turn.
Senna moved up to second after Berger spun into the wall and was forced to pit. What followed was a stunning battle between Alesi and Senna for the lead.
Senna passed Alesi on Lap 34 only for the brave Frenchman to dive back inside the Brazilian to re-take the lead.
The same happened on the following lap, only this time Senna saw it coming and defended his lead. Alesi in the Tyrell made several attempts to re-pass Senna but eventually had to let the Brazilian go.
Alesi finished second with a performance that made many believe he would be a future F1 champion, Yet, he would only go on to win one race in his lengthy career.
A classic clip from the #USGP archives 🎞
Jean Alesi and eventual race winner Ayrton Senna going toe-to-toe on the streets of Phoenix 💪#F1 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/An46JMp1te
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 16, 2018
4 – 2002 Australian Grand Prix
The 2002 Australian Grand Prix is arguably the most chaotic season-opener in F1 history.
Eight cars didn’t even make it past the opening lap as Ralf Schumacher flew over the back of Rubens Barichello while challenging for the lead at the start.
This caused a chain reaction further down the field. Felipe Massa cut the inside of the corner and speared into the side of Giancarlo Fisichella. Jenson Button, Nick Heidfeld, Olivier Panis and Allan McNish also got caught up in the incident.
David Coulthard led the race while Jarno Trulli spun from second after defending his position from Michael Schumacher. This brought out the safety car where Coulthard lost his lead after sliding off the track when he became distracted by a mechanical issue and dropped to fifth.
Schumcher and Montoya exchanged positions but it was the Ferrari driver who won the race with Kimi Raikkonen taking his first career podium in third.
Mark Webber famously took fifth for Minardi in the first race of his career as he held of Mika Salo in the new Toyota team.
There are dramatic starts – and then there's the 2002 Australian Grand Prix
EIGHT cars eliminated at the first corner 😱😱😱#OnThisDay #F1 pic.twitter.com/Lpxs3btDRP
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 3, 2018
3 – 2003 Australian Grand Prix
The 2003 Australian Grand Prix was a much-needed thriller after Michael Schumacher dominated the 2002 season.
There was a heavy rain shower before the race but the track dried out quickly. Kimi Raikkonen, Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael Schumacher switched to dry tyres at different times which started a three-way battle for win as each driver’s strategy unfolded.
Rubens Barichello was another contender but he jumped the start before crashing early in the race.
On Lap 38, Schumacher challenged Raikkonen for the lead. However, he suffered pace-hampering damage as he went wide over the exit kerb and onto the grass.
Raikkonen threw away a victory after speeding in the pit-lane handing the lead to Montoya.
Montoya unfathomably spun at the first corner with 10 laps to go and would ultimately finish second behind David Coulthard who took the final win of his career, with Raikkonen in third.
2 – 2020 Austrian Grand Prix
F1 fans had to wait until July 5 for the opening race of the 2020 season due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, they were rewarded with a wild season-opener.
Max Verstappen was expected to be the main challenge for the Mercedes pair of Valterri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton but retired on Lap 11.
Sebastian Vettel forced himself into a spin after a botched overtake attempt on Carlos Sainz. Romain Grosjean suffered a brake failure and the wheel of Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo detached and forced him into a crash bringing out what was the third safety car.
Alex Albon on quicker tyres tried to pass Lewis Hamilton for second only for the Mercedes driver to pitch him into a spin.
Hamilton was given a time penalty which demoted him from second to fourth. Charles Leclerc took second after some stunning overtakes while Lando Norris picked up his first career podium.
While chaos ensued behind him, it was a comfortable day for Bottas who took the first victory of the season.
1 – 2009 Australian Grand Prix
This makes the top of the list for the best season-opener in F1 history thanks to a chaotic race and a fairytale of a story.
The race saw the debut of the Brawn GP team, created from the ashes of Honda’s abandoned F1 programme.
Jenson Button went from thinking he might not even have a seat in the 2009 season but having one in the quickest car on the grid.
Seven weeks' today, we'll be racing again in Australia 🇦🇺
There have been many memorable races there, but 2009 is high on any list
Brawn GP was only three weeks old by race weekend
But that didn't stop @JensonButton taking the win #F1 pic.twitter.com/Io9sGxDpyD
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 4, 2018
The Brit controlled from start to finish. While his teammate Rubens Barichello recovered from an awful start to take second.
Red Bull had kept Button in their sights until Sebastian Vettel crashed into Robert Kubica’s BMW as they battled for second.
Jarno Trulli took third but was penalised for allegedly passing Lewis Hamilton under the safety car. However, Hamilton was disqualified after the race after it was found he misled the stewards. McLaren had actually told him to let Trulli back through after the Italian ran off the track.
