Lando Norris narrowly survived a late shower and worrying slither into the gravel to win a wet and wacky Australian Grand Prix by a whisker.
The Briton ran wide as rain sprinkled the Melbourne track, but he wrestled the car back from on to the road. He then pitted to move on to intermediate tyres, plunging him down to eighth.
It looked bleak for him at this worrying moment after so many sure-footed laps in tricky conditions after starting on pole and holding off Max Verstappen gallantly at lights out. But as other cars came into the pits to be reshod, he moved up into the lead again.
His one pursuer had been McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, but at the same spot as Norris went off he too detoured off track a second or so later. He, though, could not right his car and ended up stuck on the grass, his race-winning prospects over, though he recovered to finish ninth.
Norris drove well under pressure at the end, despite a small mistake at Turn 6, as Verstappen hounded him all the way and got within DRS range, but he held on to triumph by 0.8sec. George Russell was third for Mercedes – a very decent drive by him.
It was a dazzling race, full of incident, a great beginning to the 2025 season.
McLaren’s Lando Norris won Formula One’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix
He emerged victorious on the slippery Albert Park circuit where only 14 of the 20 cars finished in the treacherous conditions
Norris, the pre-season favourite for the drivers’ title, started the Formula One season as he finished the last at Abu Dhabi, with victory from pole
‘It was a bit stressful at the end, I won’t lie,’ admitted Norris. ‘These tricky conditions are something I love.’
All eyes across the weekend had been on Lewis Hamilton, who started eighth on his much-trumpeted Ferrari debut. He briefly led after Norris’s scare but he was pulled into the pits soon after.
‘F***’ he shouted of the strategy he didn’t want. ‘We missed a big chance.’ The Briton finished 10th, two places behind team-mate Charles Leclerc. A challenging weekend for the Scuderia.
A word of acclaim for Verstappen, who rung everything out of his Red Bull machine after starting third, but McLaren were in a class of one, and Norris was a deserving winner by dint of his own performance, too.
He had, however, been given a helping hand earlier when home favourite Piastri was ordered not to race him.
The instruction came 30 laps in when the Australian was right on Norris’s tail. ‘Hold position,’ he was told by race engineer Tom Stallard. The 131,000 crowd were getting excited at this stage as their man – a Melburnian in fact – was on a charge.
‘I’m faster,’ rejoined Piastri. ‘But I’m OK.’
Perplexingly, the instruction was rescinded a few laps later but only after Piastri had fallen back. ‘We are free to race now,’ said Stallard. ‘You know the rules.’ It was a hollow welcome to press his case from three seconds back.
Defending champion Max Verstappen came second while George Russell came third
Meanwhile, Great Britain star Lewis Hamilton finished in 10th place on his Ferrari debut
Hamilton enjoyed the thrills and spills but had a few heated debates with his new race engineer Riccardo Adami, telling him not to distract him
There were three safety cars in all, with RB’s Isack Hadjar (on the formation lap), Alpine’s Jack Doohan on the opening lap, Williams’ Carlos Sainz behind the resulting safety car, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso on lap 34, Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and RB’s Liam Lawson, both on lap 47, all spun off.
Hamilton enjoyed the thrills and spills but had a few heated debates with his new race engineer Riccardo Adami, telling him not to distract him. ‘Leave it guys, leave it,’ said the Briton at one stage. ‘I’m learning the car as I go mate, just leave me to it with the DRS. It’s not an issue.’
Fellow Brit Ollie Bearman for finished 14th for Haas, last of the survivors, a triumph of sorts after two accidents in practice and qualifying.
