Australian Grand Prix: Norris fends of Verstappen in epic opener
F1 NewsSunday, 16 March 2025 at 13:15
In what was one of the most dramatic starts to a Formula 1 season, the Australian Grand Prix - packed with incidents, talking points, and endless points to analyse - saw Lando Norris deliver a calm and commanding performance to launch his 2025 campaign in the best possible way today in Melbourne.
Norris had never won such a chaotic race. Despite dominating qualifying a day earlier, McLaren’s drivers including Australian hero Oscar Piastri were harassed all race long by Max Verstappen, who once again did not have the car to match the reigning world champions. Typically the Dutchman made a nuisance of himself at what should have been a papaya party at Albert Park.
As he crossed the line to win the season opener today, Norris said over the radio: "Oof, little bit of pressure! Well done boys, beautifully handled. Executed to the second. One second later and we were done. Well done everyone, congrats, amazing way to start the year."
Later he reflected on his fifth Grand Prix victory: "Tough race! Especially with Max behind me. I was pushing, especially the last two laps. A little bit stressful, I won't like. But an amazing way to start the year.
"We got it wrong a lot last year, so we learned from our mistakes. We lost out at Silverstone and Canada through a race like this. "It's only the first round of 24, so dealing with the pressure, dealing with Max, dealing with Oscar, I was pushing the whole way through.
"A tough one, so to not make overly too many mistakes or a mistake that cost me anything, I can take a bit of credit for that. A challenging race. But for McLaren, I need to give them a big thanks because they have given me an amazing car," declared Norris.
Half-dozen final sprint laps decided an epic Grand Prix
Only 14 of the 20 starters made it to the sprint to the flag in this 39th edition of the Australian Grand Prix, as the rest had fallen victim to crashes, prompting multiple safety cars throughout the wet-dry-wet-dry-wet conditions that played havoc over the two-hour race.
Verstappen never gave up, pushing Norris to the limit in treacherous conditions. The pressure was on the leader as the pair danced on a narrow dry line, duelling to the flag. Norris kept his cool, absorbed the pressure, and secured one of the finest victories of his career.
But, as is the norm, Verstappen perhaps did not gatecrash the McLaren party has he has tended to do so in the past. This time they self-destructed their one-two, when Piastri got beached, took an age to recover and what might've been a podium celebration became a disappointing P9.
Verstappen summed up: "It was a difficult race, of course. But at the end it was fun. Lando had a little moment on entry of Turn 6, so he lost a lot of momentum there, so that’s what I got close and then I got the DRS.
"I got close but it’s very hard to pass around here, but it was fun. Those last laps, pushing, at least when you’re fighting for the win. I’m just very happy to bring it home, score good points, and this is a decent starting point for us," added the four-time F1 World Champion.
Russell: It was so tricky but that's what F1 is about
Behind the top two, Mercedes enjoyed a strong result, with George Russell inheriting P3 after Oscar Piastri beached his McLaren when caught out by late rain while running in second place. While Russell lacked the outright pace of the top three early in the race, he was comfortably the best of the rest.
The British driver said: "It was a great way to come home in P3. Well done to Lando. A race like that when you're leading is probably your worst nightmare but he did a great job and well done to Kimi for coming back to P5, which is really impressive.
"To end up on the podium, I'm super happy. I was enjoying it out there because I was hoping the two guys ahead would make a mistake and I would slip through. But it was so tricky. That's what F1 is about. I hope everyone enjoyed it at home," added Russell.
His Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli lived up to the hype finally, delivering an outstanding rookie drive, crossing the line in fourth after carving his way through the field in conditions that caught out both the young and the experienced. However, his impressive result was marred by an unsafe release penalty, dropping him to P5.
This promoted Alex Albon to P4, salvaging a bittersweet day for Williams. After galvanising the team all winter, 'new boy' Carlos Sainz crashed out early on, which is about as cruel as Formula 1 gets.
Carbon fibre carnage provided opportunities
Drivers who would typically struggle for points on a normal race day, which today was not by any means, thus P6 and P7 for Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and Nico Hulkenberg in his debut for Sauber was a job well done for both.
Aston Martin veteran Fernando Alonso became a slippery white stripe victim on lap 34, to end a lacklustre weekend for him. A few laps later, almost in tandem, Gabriele Bortoleto binned his Sauber, as did Liam Lawson, ending a rather dreadful weekend for Red Bull's latest experiment. Welcome to Formula 1 boys!
It was a tense afternoon at Ferrari after a below-par qualifying for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton which turned into an equally disappointing race day in which they finished P8 and P10 when we all thought they had a good car in the Ferrari SF25.
Although Hamilton led his first race in Red, it was a brief anomaly as he was never really in it for a much better result than what he got today. His exchanges with his engineer pointed to a learning curve between the two, a work in progress...
In the other car, Leclerc also had a few heated moments with the Ferrari pit wall. But, like his new teammate, he never looked like a podium contender. Not a good start for Ferrari's 2025 campaign, considering that Sainz won in Melbourne for them last year, and that they were closer to the top of the McLaren's in Abu Dhabi than they were today Down Under.
The entire McLaren team deserve a standing ovation
Keeping the race-winning momentum flowing from last season sets McLaren up for the double this season. No surprise that team boss CEO Zak Brown was chuffed: "Unbelievable drive. The team called a perfect strategy in very difficult conditions.
"I feel terrible for Oscar. They both came up on the rain at the same time and Lando collected it up. Oscar drives great to get back to P9. It was an exciting race. The team did a great job, everyone back at McLaren have built a proper race car.
"It looked good, but this is one track, one race. Let's see what happens in China. But we have started the season strong. We saw last year Max won the first seven races, then had a drought so we just have to keep doing what we are doing.
"We know how quickly things change in this sport, we just need to make sure we keep developing but that's what everyone at McLaren has done in the last few years," added Brown.
Drama started early this season!
Even before the lights went out—when rookie Isack Hadjar crashed into the barriers a couple of hours before a most dramatic afternoon in Melbourne.
The predicted rain duly arrived, with Albert Park, lashed by heavy showers all morning, forcing the Grand Prix to be delayed. As the field made their way to the grid on their sighting laps, Hadjar suffered heartbreak when he wrecked his Racing Bull, forcing him to sit out what would have been his F1 debut.
The young French rookie was inconsolable, sobbing as the reality of his mistake dawned on him. He was gutted as was anyone witnessing F1 at its most cruel, including Lewis Hamilton's father Anthony, who felt for Hadjar as he tried to console him as the driver returned to the paddock.
Once racing got underway, it did not take long for local hero Jack Doohan to slam into the wall after his Alpine lost grip on the treacherous white lines that crisscrossed Albert Park’s tarmac. Just as it seemed like a rookie massacre, veteran Carlos Sainz lost control coming onto the main straight, ending his Williams debut in the barriers—a disappointing start for the Spaniard.
A safety car period followed to clear the two wrecks, and up until that point, very little racing had taken place. When the field was released, Norris, Verstappen, and Piastri surged ahead, with the rest of the pack in pursuit.
Even old-timer Alonso was caught out by the conditions
On lap 34, the most experienced driver in the field, Fernando Alonso, got it wrong, clipping a kerb and hitting the sand, which sent his Aston Martin into the wall at Turn 6. This triggered another safety car, effectively splitting the Grand Prix into two halves.
For the ‘second half’ of the race, all cars restarted behind the safety car on slicks, with the majority opting for the harder white-banded Pirelli tyre. However, Verstappen, running third, gambled on the softer yellow-banded rubber, despite looming rain clouds overhead. At the end of lap 41 of 57, the race restarted, setting up a fresh battle to the finish.
Norris wasted no time, taking Piastri with him as Verstappen dropped back, while George Russell followed in fourth but struggled to keep up. On lap 43, light rain began to fall, and teams scrambled to decide how to react to the increasingly slippery conditions.
Behind the top four, a fierce battle for fifth place saw Yuki Tsunoda edge past Charles Leclerc.
At the front, Norris was pulling away just as the rain intensified. Then, approaching the end of lap 44, both McLaren drivers were caught out almost in unison. Norris squirmed but managed to save it, diving into the pits for intermediate tyres.
Piastri, however, wasn’t as lucky—after nearly recovering, he ended up beached on the grass. He eventually reversed back onto the track to a roar from the crowd, but his podium chances were gone.
A five-stop race for most of those who survived
Notably, Verstappen stayed out on slicks as the rain began hammering down. Norris rejoined in sixth on intermediates, while Hamilton—who had stayed out—led the race on his Ferrari debut. On lap 46, Verstappen finally dived into the pits, unable to hold on any longer. Meanwhile, Hamilton pressed on, leading the race, but Norris on fresh intermediates was much faster and soon passed him.
A lap later, Liam Lawson crashed, bringing out yet another safety car. Norris took the lead as Hamilton pitted on lap 48. At the same time, Gabriele Bortoleto added to the rookie misery, crashing out on his debut—a brutal initiation into Formula 1.
By the time the spray and drama had settled, the field was released again on lap 51. Norris immediately pulled away, with Verstappen tucked in behind him for a high-stakes, six-lap sprint to the finish. A single dry racing line was emerging, setting the stage for a tense finale.
As expected, with Piastri out of the picture by his own accord, Verstappen came out bobbing and weaving behind Norris for the decisive sprint race to the finish line. But in the end, Lando dodged the punches, to take a famous victory over his nemesis, setting the stage for a season-long battle between the two best drivers in Formula 1 right now.
2025 Australian Grand Prix Top 10 Provisional Result
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