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WATCH: Top Disasters in Australian Grand Prix History

The 2025 Australian Grand Prix will start in a few days, and before that, let us look at some of the biggest disasters happened during the F1 races in Australia.

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Venkatakrishnan
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Top 10 biggest Australian GP disasters in F1 history

Australian GP disasters (Photograph: X)

The Formula 1 2025 season starts with the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, Melbourne. The race weekend starts March 14 and ends 16th, with 10 F1 teams and 20 drivers racing for the pole position. The season opener will be a huge fan fest as we are going back to racing after a 3-month break.

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This year will also be the final year of the current regulations, which adds more excitement to the season. But the Australian Grand Prix in the past had many disasters that ended in heart breaks. So, let us watch some of the greatest incidents during the AUS GP.

Watch the top 10 biggest disasters in Australian Grand Prix history

10. 1991 Australian Grand Prix

This was the shortest race in F1 history; after just 14 laps and 23 minutes of racing, the organizers stopped the race. Ayrton Senna entered the weekend as a world champion, and the race was just a formality. But seasonal rain made it worse, as the race track turned into a river. 

At the start of the race, Senna took the lead and dominated the entire 14 laps. But on his back, everything was going chaotic. Cars started crashing back-to-back, which halted the race with multiple red flags. Finally, the organisers were forced to call out the race. Ayrton Senna later slammed F1 for starting the race despite heavy rain. 

9. 2024 - Russell’s Red Flag cry

George Russell had one of the biggest fears during last year's Australian Grand Prix. He was tailing Fernando Alonso, and suddenly, the Spaniard braked a little early. Russell, panicking, crashed straight into the wall and was tossed back to the race track at a 90-degree angle.

The british driver was in fear of death as he didn't know who was going to crash into him. He cried, “Red Flag, Red Flag…” But Russell should thank Lance Stroll’s race engineer, as he is the one who informed about the incident on time via radio, or it could have been another Anthony Hubert kind of an incident.

8. 2008 - Only seven cars finished

It was one of the most chaotic races in F1 history, as it’s the only race with the lowest number of cars finishing. Out of 22, only 7 cars finished the race alive, and the rest retired due to an accident, collision or technical issues. After 58 laps of chaos and disaster, Lewis Hamilton won the race for McLaren while Nick Heidfeld and Nico Rosberg finished on the podiums. It still holds the record for the lowest number of finishers.

7. 2012- Maldonado’s Late crash

Pastor Maldonado was driving for the Williams racing team and was impressive. He was chasing Alonso for the 5th place, and even if he doesn't get past the Spaniard, he will still take home some good points. But disaster struck on the final lap when Maldonado lost control of his car and touched the grass. He slammed hard into the outside wall, ending his race and shattering his team’s dream of getting valuable points. 

6. 2023- Restart disaster

Max Verstappen was leading the race, and in the last few laps, there was a Red flag incident when Kevin Magnussen crashed into the wall on lap 54. With just two laps remaining in the race, F1 opted for a standing restart. As the restart happened, it very soon turned into a disaster. As many cars were caught in the chaos, the race ended with the safety car, and the FIA kept the previous laps' grid positions. Max Verstappen was declared the winner alongside Lewis Hamilton in P2 and Fernando Alonso in P3.

5. 2001 - Jacquez Villenueve kills race marshall

Ralf Schumacher and Jacques Villenueve were battling for the position and at turn 3, the canadian misjudged the gap and clipped Schumacher's rear. The impact made him fly in the air and crash into the trackside barriers. One of the wheels from Villenueve’s car flew through the air and struck Graham Beveridge, one of the race marshalls standing behind the safety fence. He wore protective gear, but even then, he suffered fatal injury and died. Jacques was shaken when he heard of the marshall’s death. 

4. 1994 - Scumacher tosses Hill

Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher were fighting for the world championship. It was a decisive race, and whoever won would be crowned the world champion. Schumacher ran wide on lap 36 and damaged his suspension. 

He was going slow, and Hill tried to overtake him, and while doing so, Schumacher turned into Damon Hill’s Williams car and tossed him into the barriers, which made him retire from the race. Both drivers retired from the race, and since Schumacher had 1 point lead, he won the championship controversially.

3. 1996 - Martin Brundle launched into the air

On the opening lap of the 1996 Australian Grand Prix, Martin Brundle wanted to go through the gap between Coulthard and Herbert. But his front wheel touched the McLaren car, flipping it into the air, and he crashed upside down. 

The car is destroyed due to the impact of the fall, and many thought Brundle was dead. But, thanks to the F1 car's safety system, Martin came out of the car unscathed. This was one of the biggest incidents that happened during the Australian GP.

2. 2016- Alonso rolling in the air

Fernando Alonso was driving for McLaren and tried to get past Haas driver Esteban Gutirrez. His front right wheel touched the Haas car's rear, and Alonso was thrown into the air. He rolled multiple times and crashed heavily into the corner. It was horrifying to see, and even Esteban ran to save Alonso. The Spaniard escaped the crash unhurt and wanted his mom to know that he was alive. This is Fernando Alonso’s biggest crash incident in Formula 1.

1. 2002- Ralf Schumacher goes Airborne

On the opening lap of the 2002 Australian Grand Prix, Ralf Schumacher tried to get past the pole sitter Rubens Barrichello. The Ferrari had a massive load of fuel that made it harder to go fast during the race start, and Ralf Schumacher went airborne, damaging both his and Barrichello's Ferrari. 

His Brother, Michael, saw the perfect opportunity to get past through, and he eventually did. But the cars behind didn't see this coming, and many crashed back to back, turning the race into a carnage. This is still one of the scariest race incidents that happened during the F1 races in Australia.

Also Read: Top 10 Best Races in Australian Grand Prix History

Formula 1 F1 Australian Grand Prix