What happened in the Australian Grand Prix: rain claims big F1 names as Lando fends off Max

F1

Lando Norris claimed victory over Max Verstappen in an action-packed 2025 Australian Grand Prix that saw rookies and world champions alike struggle in wet weather; Oscar Piastri go off from second; and tense radio messages from Lewis Hamilton

Max Verstappen pulls alongside Lando Norris in 2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix

Verstappen challenged Norris but couldn't make it past

Clive Rose/Getty Images

The first race of a hotly-anticipated season didn’t need any extra drama but got it in spades, as rain showers added to the challenge of the 2025 Australian Grand Prix, won by Lando Norris who was chased right to the flag by Max Verstappen.

Even the likes of Verstappen, Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc were caught out by the slippery conditions, which offered another unforgiving test for F1’s rookies.

Norris had a scare too, running off track as the rain began falling again towards the end of the race. Both he and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri who had been running first and second for much of the race, ran off ahead of the penultimate corner as they hit a slippery patch. While Norris recovered, Piastri slid back off onto the grass and took more than a minute to recover, dropping almost to the very back.

McLaren had a pace advantage at the Melbourne season-opener, but a series of crashes through the race led to three safety car periods that kept the field close together.

The first casualty of the wet conditions was Isack Hadjar. Racing Bulls’ new recruit didn’t even get to start the race after losing his car on a wet track and hitting the barrier on the formation lap. The start was delayed by 15 minutes while his car was recovered.

Isack Hadjar puts his hands to his helmet after crashing out of the 2025 f1 Australian Grand prix on the formation lap

Hadjar looked devastated at his formation lap crash

Bryn Lennoin/F1 via Getty Images

When racing did get underway, rain had stopped falling but the track remained wet and the McLarens struggled to get the power down from the front row of the grid. Verstappen, from third on the grid took advantage, closing in on second-placed Piastri and surging around the outside of Turn 2 when he ran too deep in the first corner.

Leclerc passed Alex Albon in the run-up to the first corner and then bravely braked late into Turn 3, to pull alongside Yuki Tsunoda and power around the outside to take fifth, having started seventh on the grid. Ahead, George Russell was fourth.

Behind them, Nico Hülkenberg gained five places, moving from 17th on the grid to 12th. Fernando Alonso moved into the points, rising to 10th from 12th on the grid.

Lando Norris leads at the start of the 2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix

Lando Norris led the way at the start but Verstappen was on a charge

Jayce Illman/Getty Images

Charles Leclerc leads Lewis Hamilton in the 2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix

Leclerc led Hamilton at the start

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

That was where the action paused, after Jack Doohan spun and hit the barrier after putting the power down at Turn 6, bringing out the first safety car of the race. It was no help to Carlos Sainz who also spun his Williams and crashed at the reduced safety car pace, complaining of a sudden surge of torque.

Lap eight brought the resumption of racing — largely in name only. Without DRS, Albert Park lived up to its reputation of being difficult to pass at. Piastri was unable to make it past Verstappen despite looking quicker. Further back, Kimi Antonelli and Liam Lawson were unable to make progress from their lowly starting positions of 16th and 18th.

Lewis Hamilton was struggling too in eighth, unable to pass Albon, which prompted the first of several testy exchanges between him and his new race engineer Riccardo Adami who are clearly in the very early stages of their partnership. Hamilton spoke in a tone that was markedly less familiar than he’d been with his long-time Mercedes engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington, as he repeatedly asked for less coaching at several points during the race

“You can use K1 when you’re close,” Hamilton was told and replied: “Leave me to it please”

“K1 available,” Adami repeated. “Yes I know, leave me to it please,” said Hamilton.

Crashed Williams of Carlos Sainz at 2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix

Sainz’s crash under the safety car highlighted tricky conditions

Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

The action picked up after lap 12 when DRS was enabled. Having followed Hülkenberg closely for several laps, Antonelli got past on lap 15 only to put his wheel on the grass and spin onto one of the few sections of asphalt run-off, which put him back behind Hülkenberg, but still in the race. He re-passed the Sauber soon afterwards.

Then, on lap 18, Piastri closed in on Verstappen, who locked up at Turn 11 and ran too deep, giving Piastri a straightforward pass to reclaim second place.

By lap 30, the McLarens were 15sec ahead of Verstappen, with Piastri looking threatening behind Norris, in search of his first home race.

Related article

If there was any doubt as to McLaren’s policy of team orders, it was quickly dispelled in a mid-race interview between McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown and Sky Sport: “Let’s go racing!” he said.

Ferrari’s radio exchanges continued to raise eyebrows. “Is there a leakage?” Leclerc asked. “A leakage of what?” his engineer asked.

“I have the seat full of water.” Leclerc said, to be told: “Must be the water”.

“Let’s add that to the words of wisdom,” Leclerc replied.

It was a lack of water that was causing an impending dilemma for the rest of the field, as intermediate tyres were wearing out on a drying track, but the expectation of more rain meant that teams didn’t want to commit to slicks.

The conundrum was solved by Alonso; the latest to lose his car and crash on a patch of loose gravel that had been pulled onto the track. A second safety car period triggered a switch to slicks en-masse.

Fernando Alonso loses control of Aston MArtin in 2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix

Alonso lost his Aston on a patch of gravel

Clive Mason/Getty Images

The race restarted on lap 42 but even before the next burst of rain, the track remained slippery. Leclerc span from fifth and recovered, but dropped behind Tsunoda, Albon and Hamilton.

Radios crackled with predictions of an imminent shower, but it still caught drivers unawares when, at the end of lap 44, the McLarens hit trouble.

As Piastri slid far onto the grass, Norris headed straight into the pits for intermediate tyres, followed by around half of the grid, but not the Red Bulls or Ferraris.

Verstappen led but looked to be only just keeping his car on the track as it grew ever slipperier. “It was quite spicy out there with the slick tyres,” he said after the race.

He pitted two laps later but Hamilton continued on slicks, taking the lead ahead of Leclerc — also on slicks.

Red Bull of Liam Lawson crashes into barrier during the 2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix

Slicks proved too slippery for Lawson

The perils of the tactic were illustrated by Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto — on intermediates — who both crashed out. Under a third safety car, the Ferraris eventually pitted, with Hamilton making no secret of his dismay that he was back down in ninth place.

His outlook wouldn’t improve when he was passed by Leclerc on the lap 52 restart, the two Ferraris coming close to making contact.

Both cars did then pass Pierre Gasly‘s Alpine, but Hamilton once more lost a place to the charging Piastri, who had made his way into the points and then made a sensational move around the outside of Hamilton at Turn 9 to take ninth place.

At that point though, most eyes were on the battle for the lead as Verstappen gave it everything in the final two laps. A small error by Norris in Turn 6 brought the world champion within DRS range, and he looked to have the pace — if not the passing opportunity — to win, keeping the feet of McLaren fans firmly on the ground until the chequered flag.

Oscar Piastri puts his hand to his face after 2025 F1 Ausralian Grand Prix

Despair for Piastri after losing second place

Jayce Illman/Getty Images

Russell followed behind in third after a fairly anonymous race. He was followed by Antonelli who took advantage of the safety cars to make a remarkable recovery to fourth — and retained that place after appealing against a penalty for an unsafe pit release.

That kept the 18-year-old ahead of Albon who maintained his place in the mid top 10 throughout the race. Tsunoda had been ahead of the Williams for most of the race but stayed out on slicks for too long, went off and ended the race 12th.

“A little bit stressful, I’m not going to lie,” said Norris, who remained coy about his expectations for the year after a measured, calm, and assertive drive.

Lando Norris holds trophy after winning the 2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix

Position Driver Team Time Points
1 Lando Norris McLaren 1hr 42min 06.304sec 25
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.895sec 18
3 George Russell Mercedes +8.481sec 15
4 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +12.773sec 12
5 Alex Albon Williams +15.135sec 10
6 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +17.413sec 8
7 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber +18.423sec 6
8 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +19.826sec 4
9 Oscar Piastri McLaren +20.448sec 2
10 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +22.473sec 1
11 Pierre Gasly Alpine +26.502sec 0
12 Yuki Tsunoda Racing Bulls +29.884sec 0
13 Esteban Ocon Alpine +33.161sec 0
14 Oliver Bearman Haas +40.351sec 0
15 Liam Lawson Red Bull Did Not Finish 0
16 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber DNF 0
17 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin DNF 0
18 Carlos Sainz Williams DNF 0
19 Jack Doohan Alpine DNF 0
20 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls DNF 0