McLaren’s Lando Norris kicked off the 2025 Formula One season in style, winning the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and seeing off reigning World Champion Max Verstappen in a wet and chaotic race.
Verstappen finished second at the Melbourne track ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, who rounded out the first podium of the season.
Norris held off his teammate Oscar Piastri as the lights went out in wet conditions, but it was Verstappen from P3 with a stellar start who almost put a move on both McLaren cars in the opening corners before zooming past Piastri to move into second place.
While one Australian was overtaken on the opening lap, it was even worse for the other one, as Jack Doohan, along with fellow rookie Isack Hadjar and Carlos Sainz, failed to see the end of Lap 1.
Hadjar was the first to crash out after losing his rear at Turn 2 and going into the barriers, which brought out the Safety Car. Things got worse as Doohan lost control of his rear tyres not long after to hit the barriers at Turn 6, ending his race. New Williams signing Sainz, meanwhile, hit the final corner the following lap, with the wet conditions causing a headache for drivers both new and experienced.
The Safety Car, which came out following Sainz’ lap, went in as the race got its first full lap on Lap 8, with Norris leading a charging Verstappen. With the rain beginning to settle in, Verstappen’s eagerness saw him lock up on Lap 17, which allowed home hero Piastri back into second place while giving Norris some breathing space up front.
Within ten laps of regaining their one-two, McLaren had established a huge gap to the rest of the field, with Verstappen almost 15 seconds off the lead by Lap 27. Piastri, having been cleared after a brief warning, went after Norris’ lead but had a moment on Lap 32 as he went a bit wide, which allowed Norris to build a lead of over two seconds.
Lap 34 saw the fourth retiree of the race as Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso spun out, bringing out the yellow flags and bringing in a host of cars into the pits for their stops. After seven laps behind the Safety Car, racing resumed on Lap 41. With both rain and wind picking up, chaos ensued as Norris had a nasty spin, though he managed to hold on, and Piastri slid off, allowing Verstappen to take the lead. The Dutchman led from Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly, with Yuki Tsunoda and Charles Leclerc behind him, while Norris’ recovery made sure he remained sixth.
Just as it looked like we would get a couple of racing laps without interruption, there was another incident as Verstappen’s teammate, Liam Lawson, spun out, again bringing out the yellow flags and the Safety Car. The Safety Car came in on Lap 51 as blue skies came out, with Norris in the lead thanks to quick thinking during the pit stop under the Safety Car.
Norris held on to his lead to take home the win in dramatic fashion to kick off the season, while Verstappen finished second ahead of George Russell. Amid all the chaos, Williams’ Alex Albon finished a brilliant fourth ahead of rookie Kimi Antonelli, whose five-second penalty dropped him down a place. The remaining Aston Martin of Lance Stroll finished sixth, with Nico Hülkenberg, Leclerc, Piastri, and Hamilton rounding out the points places.
McLaren remain top of the Constructors’ table, picking up where they left off last season, with Mercedes two points behind them with 25 points. Red Bull are third with 18 points, with Albon’s stellar drive putting Williams in fourth. Alpine, VCARB, and Haas remain the three teams that are yet to get off the mark.
After a dramatic start to the season, racing will return next week as the grid moves to China for the second race of the 2025 Formula One season.
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