The long-awaited Australian Grand Prix 2025 was won by Lando Norris, followed by Max Verstappen and George Russell, who complete the podium.
What happened at Qualifying of the Australian GP?
The 2025 Formula 1 season roared into action with a thrilling qualifying session at Albert Park, setting the stage for the Australian Grand Prix. Lando Norris stole the spotlight, securing an emphatic pole position for McLaren, edging out home hero Oscar Piastri in a tense final run. Max Verstappen recovered from a tough Friday to claim third, as Red Bull made significant overnight gains.
Further down the grid, Alex Albon impressed for Williams in fifth, while Yuki Tsunoda stunned the paddock with a superb sixth place for Racing Bulls. However, it was a tough day for rookies, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Liam Lawson, and Oliver Bearman all struggling. Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari debut also proved challenging, with a costly Q2 spin leaving him only seventh on the grid.
With rain on the horizon and the grid finely poised, the scene was set for an electrifying Australian Grand Prix.
Bearman and Lawson had to start the first race of the season from the pit lane because their cars were being modified under parc fermé.
Lights out
Lance Stroll was the only driver to start the race on full wets, the rest opted for intermediates.
On the formation lap, Hadjar lost his Racing Bull due to wheel spin when he was warming up the tyres. The start was then aborted.
Due to a check on the damaged barrier, the start to the race and second formation lap was delayed by 10 minutes.
Finally time for racing… for a short time
Lando Norris made a clean getaway, holding the lead into Turn 1. Behind him, Max Verstappen got the better of a cautious Oscar Piastri, moving up to second place.
Further back, drama unfolded as Jack Doohan crashed at Turn 6. The rookie’s race ended early, but he appeared unhurt. The safety car was deployed, with Norris maintaining his lead.
While attention was on Doohan’s incident, Carlos Sainz also crashed at Turn 13. Replays showed the Spaniard losing control of the rear in the slippery conditions, and his lack of experience in the Williams proved costly, especially in the wet.
The first pit stops
While the remaining drivers were advised to stay away from the painted white lines, the first drivers were already making their first pit stop.
While the remaining drivers were instructed to stay away from the painted white lines, the first drivers were already making their first stop. Lawson and Bearman came in for new intermediates.
On lap 8, shortly before the restart, Norris radioed: “[Track] is okay, some bits are pretty wet so 100% inters but it will dry up at some point.”
Back to racing
Norris managed a good jump at the restart and was able to keep Verstappen behind him, with Piastri also staying ahead of Verstappen. At first it looked as if Norris would pull away at the front, but Verstappen was able to stay with the McLaren.
Tsunoda and Alonso were noted by Race Control for a safety car infringement.
On lap 10, the crossover point began to slowly set in, at which point the intermediates slowly but surely overheated on the semi-dry track. The teams considered switching to dry tyres, but the drivers opted to leave the racing line and switch to a wetter line.
DRS finally was enabled on lap 12.
“Can you use K1, please?” Hamilton’s race engineer asked over the radio.
“Can you leave me to it, please?” came the seven-time world champion’s firm response. He was just over a second behind Alex Albon, still outside of DRS range but steadily closing in.
Meanwhile, Antonelli was making progress, overtaking Nico Hülkenberg for P12. The young Italian looked confident in the damp conditions, and if his F2 performances were anything to go by, he thrived in the wet.
This race was far from settled, with plenty of twists and turns still to come. Light drizzle had started falling—not enough to be a concern just yet, but it could intensify.
Safety car infringements?
But just as Antonelli was earning praise, disaster struck. He dropped back behind Hülkenberg after putting a wheel on the grass, spinning into the run-off area. A reminder of how tricky these conditions remained.
While Tsunoda and Alonso were noted for a Safety Car infringement, race control further noted Albon and Hamilton for the same incident. The all-clear was given for all drivers: no further action for any of them.
Verstappen made a minor mistake, and Piastri took advantage to overtake him for P2 again.
The halfway point
Hamilton reported that he had “no gear sync“, which led to his team-mate Leclerc being almost a second faster than him. However, Leclerc had utterly different problems: apparently his water bottle was leaking and he was sitting in the wet.
Verstappen’s tyres were on the brink, with barely any rubber left. Red Bull faced a tough decision—should they pit him? He had dropped 15.8 seconds off the lead, but with conditions still uncertain, making the right call was crucial.
The crossover window between intermediates and slicks remained tricky. While the racing line had dried up, puddles lingered off-line, making any switch a gamble.
Meanwhile, Hamilton remained firm with his race engineer, once again asking to be left to his own strategy decisions. It was understandable—his long-standing partnership with Pete ‘Bono’ Bonnington at Mercedes had set a precedent, and adjusting to a new dynamic at Ferrari would take time.
On track, he was still stuck in eighth, unable to find a way past a resolute Alex Albon. Further ahead, team orders caused tension at McLaren. Oscar Piastri had been told to hold position—at his home Grand Prix.
Unsurprisingly, Piastri wasn’t thrilled. He questioned the instruction, staying within a second of Norris as the battle simmered. McLaren’s latest radio message clarified their stance: Hold position until we clear the backmarkers and the track is dry.
Another safety car
On lap 34, Alonso in the Aston Martin crashed into the wall—he was uninjured, but Bernd Mayländer had to lead the pack in the safety car.
All the drivers came in to change to dry tyres except for both Haas drivers. Both Racing Bulls, Red Bull and Sauber drivers and Alex Albon changed to mediums, the rest to the hard tyres.
On lap 40, the drivers lapped overtook the leaders to rejoin the pack.
At McLaren, there was a discussion about whether Norris should switch the intermediates. Rain is predicted again for more than one lap – who will get their way?
Ollie Bearman switched to hard tyres and almost took Verstappen with him on his exit – but Bearman managed to stay in front and passed Bernd Mayländer before the safety car phase ended, rejoining the pack at the back.
Norris was able to pull away at the restart again, Piastri and Verstappen followed.
The rain came… and so did mayhem
A few raindrops began to fall just as Gabriel Bortoleto was handed a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release during the flurry of Safety Car pit stops.
Soon, drops appeared on the cameras, but the racing continued at full intensity. Tsunoda, Leclerc, Albon, and Hamilton were locked in a tight battle, running nose to tail.
Then came the crucial weather update—Russell was warned that the rain would be heavy enough for intermediates. Moments later, disaster struck McLaren.
The cameras caught both Norris and Piastri off track. Norris managed to slither back onto the circuit, but Piastri slid across and got stranded on the grass, desperately trying to engage reverse.
In the chaos, Verstappen seized the lead as Norris pitted, taking advantage of the unfolding drama.
With the conditions worsening, the race turned on its head. Lewis Hamilton found himself leading the Australian Grand Prix for Ferrari—but how long would it last? On hard tyres, he was a sitting duck, and Norris swiftly reclaimed the position.
Further back, the treacherous conditions claimed more victims—Bortoleto and Lawson both crashed, adding to the carnage as the rain wreaked havoc on the race.
Safety car… again
Lando Norris had regained the lead after pitting for intermediates at exactly the right time, while his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri found himself down in P13—the rain arriving at the worst possible moment for the home hero.
Max Verstappen and George Russell completed the podium positions at this stage, with valuable points still up for grabs in a chaotic midfield battle.
Replays showed that Lawson lost control after putting a wheel on a slippery kerb, spinning into the barriers and ending his race. Bortoleto’s crash appeared similar, but the nature of his incident seemed unusual. Kick Sauber may need to analyse the data to determine what exactly happened.
To make matters worse, it looked as though the Australian Grand Prix curse would continue, with no home driver set to stand on the podium once again.
The final laps
As the race resumed, Lando Norris expertly backed up the pack, waiting for his rival to be midway through the final corner before accelerating away. Max Verstappen’s attempt to react was compromised, costing him crucial time.
That allowed Norris to build a solid lead, while George Russell applied constant pressure to Verstappen in pursuit of second.
In a frustrating moment for Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc managed to pass him, a move that likely didn’t sit well with the seven-time world champion. It was a stark reminder of the challenges ahead in his Ferrari debut.
Yuki Tsunoda, having put in a stellar drive, found himself just outside the points in P11, unlucky to have pitted for intermediates too late. Oscar Piastri, on the other hand, was up to 12th, having gained ground after the rain.
With DRS now enabled, Piastri found himself just three-tenths behind Pierre Gasly, and made quick work of the Frenchman, taking the final point on offer. Kimi Antonelli was putting on a strong performance, all over the back of Alex Albon in the battle for fourth.
Further ahead, Piastri was now 2.4s behind Hamilton, making his pursuit of ninth a race against time.
Meanwhile, at the front, Verstappen found his rhythm and managed to get DRS with two laps remaining, setting up an intense final charge for what could be a dramatic victory, but Norris made it!
Final results
- Lando Norris
- Max Verstappen
- George Russell
- Alex Albon
- Kimi Antonelli
- Lance Stroll
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Charles Leclerc
- Oscar Piastri
- Lewis Hamilton
- Pierre Gasly
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Esteban Ocon
- Oliver Bearman
DNF: Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, Isack Hadjar, Jack Doohan
Feature Image Credit: Red Bull Racing
