Lando Norris resisted multiple pressure points to win F1 Australian GP to open 2025 season, ahead of Max Verstappen and George Russell.
The start of F1 Australian GP at Albert Park was aborted after Visa Cash App RB’s Isack Hadjar spun off at Turn 6 in wet conditions. He crashed out before his first start, as fellow rookies Liam Lawson (Red Bull) and Oliver Bearman (Haas) were forced to start from the pitlane after work on their cars.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll opted for full wets originally, but switched to intermediate tyres when they got going the second time. It started well for McLaren’s Lando Norris as he led the way in F1 Australian GP from teammate Oscar Piastri, but Red Bull’s Max Verstappen pounced on him for second.
Piastri was third from Mercedes’ George Russell as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was up to fifth after passing Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Williams’ Alexander Albon. The Top 10 was rounded out by Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
The race was quickly neutralised when Alpine’s Jack Doohan crashed out at Turn 5 in a similar way to Hadjar after driving over the slippery painted white line. There was also an off for Williams’ Carlos Sainz in the final corner due to suspected problem with the car which led him into a spin.
The likes of Lawson and Haas pair of Esteban Ocon and Bearman opted to change to new set of intermediate tyres as they ran through the pitlane for Sainz’s car to be cleared. The re-start worked well for Norris to lead F1 Australian GP from Verstappen, Piastri, Russell and Leclerc.
Tsunoda maintained sixth from Albon, Hamilton, Gasly and Alonso, as both Tsunoda and Alonso were put under investigation for safety car infringement. The DRS, meanwhile, was enabled on Lap 12 as drivers moved around the circuit in search of wet patch to keep the intermediate tyres alive.
Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli passed Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg for 12th, but the Italian had a spin at Turn 13 which allowed the German back through. The Mercedes driver saved his car from hitting the barrier, as he regained the place from the Sauber driver in couple of laps.
There was a moment for Verstappen as well in the final corner leading to Turn 1 which allowed Piastri through to make it a McLaren 1-2. There was safety car infringement investigation for Albon and Hamilton too, where they joined Tsunoda and Alonso – all of whom were cleared by the stewards.
There was a bold pass from Lawson on Ocon for 15th, as Antonelli cleared Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll for 11th, with Hamilton trying to pass Albon. After a brief spell of rain, Piastri started to close in on Norris at the front, as Verstappen dropped off heavily from the Top 2 battle.
Piastri got close Norris as they started to lap cars but McLaren told them to hold position until slicks. The Australian made a mistake to drop back when he was given ‘free to race’ message. Before anything could happen, there was another safety car for a crash for Alonso after putting a wheel on the gravel.
The drivers took the opportunity to pit and switch to slick compound where majority switched onto the hard compound barring Verstappen and Albon in the Top 10. It was Norris still in the lead from Piastri, Verstappen, Russell, Leclerc, Tsunoda, Albon, Hamilton, Gasly and Antonelli in the Top 10.
Replays showed unsafe release by Sauber for Gabriel Botoleto in the path of Lawson which was put under investigation. The Haas pair initially decided to continue on the intermediate in the hope of rain, but they ditched the plan and changed to slick compound towards the end of the safety car period.
The re-start worked well on Lap 42 but dark clouds continued to hover around. The rain started to spit and both Norris and Piastri went off in the final part of the circuit. While the Brit managed to save it and pit for the intermediate tyre, the Australian beached himself on the grass.
He did manage to reverse and continue on, as Verstappen continued on the slick tyres as did several others. They eventually had to pit but Hamilton, Leclerc and Tsunoda continued on which dropped them down the order behind the safety car for the crashes for Lawson and Bortoleto.
The Brazilian already had 5s time penalty for unsafe release, but he crashed out in tricky conditions. The order had Norris in the lead of F1 Australian GP from Verstappen and Russell, as Albon was up to fourth from Antonelli, Stroll, Hulkenberg and Gasly in the Top 8, where all gained places.
Hamilton dropped to ninth from Leclerc, with Tsunoda only 11th. Replays showed a spin for Monegasque when losing out to the Japanese early on. The replays also showed Lawson and Bortoleto losing out in tricky conditions to spin out of the grand prix.
The battle for eighth was on as Gasly was hustled around by Hamilton and Leclerc. The Monegasque initially passed the Brit at Turn 1 after a small tap and then he managed to clear the Frenchman, who ran wide on the kerb. It allowed Hamilton through as well in ninth.
Norris, meanwhile, maintained his lead but Verstappen hustled him around. The Dutchman pressured him until the end but the Brit hung on to win the opening round of 2025 F1 season in Australian GP by 0.895s margin. Russell was third in the new era with Antonelli climbing up to fourth.
He passed Albon in the process but Antonelli was handed a 5s time penalty for unseen unsafe release. This dropped him to fifth as the Thai ended up a sound fourth. Stroll was sixth to score heavy points, as did Hulkenberg in seventh. Leclerc ended up eighth from recovering Piastri.
He cleared Gasly and made a bold pass on Hamilton on the final lap to be ninth, with the Brit having to be content with 10th. Gasly was 11th from Tsunoda as both ended up outside the points from Ocon and Bearman to round out the 14 finishers in F1 Australian GP.
UPDATE: Post-race, Mercedes filed right of review against the decision of Antonelli getting a 5s time penalty for unsafe release. It refers to the second stop that the Italian made and onboard from Hulkenberg shows the Mercedes released on his path.
Hulkenberg did take some avoiding action but it was not as dangerous as some others, with Antonelli not readily getting onto the fast lane. The stewards note also mentioned that the Italian was clear of McLaren’s pit crew as well in the process.
The FIA stewards got additional video from the roll hoop camera that Mercedes presented and it was clear that there was nothing dangerous with the unsafe release. This meant, the decision of 5s penalty is reversed, with Antonelli getting fourth place back.
This dropped Albon to fifth, as Mercedes is tied on 27 points with McLaren in the constructors’ championship. The latter remains on top courtesy of the win, as Antonelli moves to fourth place in the drivers’ standings.
Here’s decision in full: https://www.fia.com/system/files/decision-document/2025_australian_grand_prix_-_decision_-_mercedes_right_of_review.pdf
