2025 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix Highlights

Lando Norris showcased masterful driving skills to clinch victory at the thrilling 2025 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, navigating through treacherous mixed weather conditions and intense race dynamics. Starting from the pole position, Norris initially led a tight battle with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on a drenched track before a strategic shift to slick tyres midway through the race.

The drama intensified as a sudden downpour prompted another round of pit stops, with Norris and Piastri both encountering challenges. While Piastri spun off the track, losing valuable time, Norris managed a crucial pit stop that ultimately restored his lead after Verstappen’s required tyre change.

The race’s climax unfolded amidst a final Safety Car period triggered by incidents involving debutant Gabriel Bortoleto and Red Bull’s Liam Lawson. Norris faced relentless pressure from Verstappen in slippery conditions but held his nerve to secure victory, reminiscent of their fierce rivalry in the previous season.

Behind Norris, George Russell capitalized on the chaos to claim a podium finish for Mercedes, followed closely by teammate Kimi Antonelli, who recovered to fourth after a penalty. Williams’ Alex Albon delivered a stellar performance to round out the top five.

Further down the order, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll showcased wet-weather expertise to finish sixth, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari. Despite challenges, Lewis Hamilton salvaged points for Alpine in tenth place after a strategic gamble during the late rainfall.

The race was marked by numerous retirements, including incidents involving Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, and Jack Doohan, contributing to the event’s high drama and unpredictability. Racing Bulls’ newcomer Isack Hadjar endured a heartbreaking start-line crash, epitomizing the challenging conditions faced by drivers throughout the event.

What a start to the 75th season of Formula 1! In just over a hundred minutes, we experienced so many emotions, with the result hanging in the balance to the last lap, not just for the win but also for the other top ten places.

From a purely technical point of view, today, we were able to see how the 2025 version of the intermediate performed, proving to be a tyre that allowed the drivers to push flat out and for many laps, even on a track where a dry racing line had emerged. There was only a bit of graining on the front left, the tyre that gets the most stress on this track, but generally, we saw minimal degradation. There’s not much to say about the slicks because the stints were pretty short, between ten to 14 laps, which means it’s hard to give a complete evaluation of their performance.

Now, along with the ten teams in the championship, we are preparing for the second round of the season, which is already next week in Shanghai. It’s a very different track to Melbourne, where we will find a brand-new track surface at a Sprint weekend, so it’s an extra challenge right from the second race.

The day on the track:

With light rain falling but gradually easing off, all drivers lined up for the formation lap on the intermediates, apart from Lance Stroll, who opted for a set of extreme wets on his Aston Martin. However, Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) went off the track, so the start was aborted, and by the time the race resumed after around ten minutes or so, the Canadian driver had changed to the same rubber as his colleagues. Another Aston Martin was in the lead for the first seven laps, but it was the DB9 Safety Car driven by Bernd Maylander, called out immediately following crashes for Jack Doohan (Alpine) and Carlos Sainz (Williams).

In between that first restart and a second Safety Car, prompted by Fernando Alonso, who hit the barriers in his Aston Martin, all drivers had used the same set of intermediates.

This time, the appearance of the Safety Car triggered a switch to slicks, with the remaining 16 drivers going for either Medium or Hard. However, the rain returned, which made it impossible to judge the relative performance of the two compounds because the entire field, either sooner or later, had to pit again for intermediates, which they then kept to the chequered flag.

2025 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix Race Results

2025 Constructor Standings

Here are the team-by-team highlights:

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