Australian GP 2025: Norris defies rain chaos and Verstappen

Lando Norris has won the 2025 season opener. The McLaren driver started from pole position, set the fastest lap and, after 57 laps, crossed the line ahead of Max Verstappen in the Red Bull and George Russell in the Mercedes. The race was decided from lap 44 onwards: the rain returned, and whoever switched to intermediates at the right moment won the race.

You'll find every position, stint and pit stop on our race page for the 2025 Australian GP. There you can also relive the race in full in 3D.

Chaos reigned at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit even before the start. Rookie Isack Hadjar (RB F1 Team) lost control on the formation lap at the exit of Turn 1 and hit the barrier. The start had to be aborted. With rain, air temperatures of 15.1 to 16.6 degrees and no more than 19.4 degrees on the track surface, the whole field started the race on intermediates.

Norris kept the lead at the start. Verstappen passed Oscar Piastri on the way to Turn 2. Still on the opening lap, Jack Doohan (Alpine) crashed at the exit of Turn 5. The Safety Car was deployed and stayed out from lap 1 to 8, at times leading the field through the pit lane. Carlos Sainz (Williams) also went off during this phase.

After the restart, McLaren made its pace count. Before the first switch to dry tyres, Piastri was back in 2nd place, with Verstappen third. Then Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) crashed heavily at the exit of Turn 6. Under the second Safety Car (laps 34 to 42) the leaders switched to slicks; many drivers further back had already done so a lap earlier.

Shortly after the restart, the rain returned. Both McLarens slid onto the grass at Turn 12. Piastri ended up in the run-off area at Turn 13, facing the wrong way. From lap 44 Verstappen led while Norris pitted. Verstappen stayed out on slicks for two more laps. When he came in, Lewis Hamilton briefly took the lead on lap 46, having stayed out on dry tyres at Ferrari, as had Charles Leclerc. From lap 47 Norris was back in front, and the third Safety Car (laps 47 to 52) came out. Before that, Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) and Liam Lawson had crashed. In the sprint to the flag after the restart, Verstappen closed in once more after a mistake by Norris at Turn 6. But Norris just held on to take the win.

The strategy data shows pit lane passes for almost every driver on laps 2 to 4. These weren't real tyre changes: the Safety Car led the field through the pit lane there. Only Ocon, Bearman and Lawson actually stopped, on lap 4. Just two pit phases really counted.

Phase 1: onto slicks (lap 33/34). The leaders came in under the Safety Car on lap 34. Norris was stationary for 2.7 seconds and stayed first; Piastri remained second despite a 3.8-second stop. Verstappen was one of the few front-runners to take mediums rather than hards and stayed third. A group including Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Alexander Albon, Lance Stroll and Nico Hülkenberg had already switched on lap 33, one lap before the Safety Car. It cost them nothing: Antonelli moved from 11th to 10th, Stroll from 12th to 11th. Hülkenberg improved from 13th to 12th despite a 5.1-second stop.

Phase 2: back onto intermediates. This is where the race was decided. Those who reacted on lap 44 gained places:

• Norris: first before the stop, still first three laps later
• Russell: from 4th to 3rd
• Albon: from 7th to 4th
• Antonelli: from 10th to 5th
• Stroll: from 11th to 6th
• Hülkenberg: from 12th to 7th

Those who hesitated lost out. Verstappen pitted from the lead on lap 46 and was in 2nd place three laps later – the lead was gone. Pierre Gasly dropped from 4th to 8th after his stop on lap 46. Ferrari and Yuki Tsunoda were hit hardest. They didn't stop until lap 47, under the Safety Car. The cheaper stop couldn't make up for the time lost on slicks in the rain: Hamilton fell from 1st to 9th, Leclerc from 2nd to 10th, Tsunoda from 4th to 11th. Piastri was the exception among the early stoppers. He also pitted on lap 44 after his off, but dropped from 2nd to 13th.

An alternative strategy barely paid off: Oliver Bearman (Haas) ran mediums from as early as lap 4. Bearman only finished 14th. Team-mate Esteban Ocon came home 13th after his late switch to slicks on lap 39.

• Isack Hadjar (RB F1 Team), 0 laps: Went off at the exit of Turn 1 on the formation lap. The rookie did not take part in the race.
• Jack Doohan (Alpine), 0 laps: Crashed at the exit of Turn 5 on the opening lap. This brought out the first Safety Car.
• Carlos Sainz (Williams), 0 laps: Went off on the opening lap under the Safety Car. Over the radio he spoke of a “massive power surge” (formula1.com).
• Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), after 32 laps: Heavy impact at the exit of Turn 6, still on intermediates. This was followed by the Safety Car from lap 34.
• Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber), after 45 laps: Crashed at Turn 13, shortly after switching to intermediates. That stop had already cost him plenty of time, at 9.3 seconds stationary.
• Liam Lawson (Red Bull), after 46 laps: Crashed at Turn 2. According to the strategy data, Lawson had been on mediums since lap 33 and was still on slicks in the rain when he crashed. Bortoleto's and Lawson's crashes triggered the third Safety Car.

The stewards had plenty to do. After the first Safety Car period, they investigated possible Safety Car infringements by Alonso, Tsunoda, Albon and Hamilton. On lap 20 they closed all four investigations with no further action. Lawson had a lap time deleted on lap 28 for leaving the track at Turn 6.

Bortoleto received a 5-second penalty on lap 43 for an unsafe release involving Lawson. It no longer affected the result, as Bortoleto retired shortly afterwards.

The Antonelli case had bigger consequences. In the stewards' view, Mercedes had released him unsafely into the path of Hülkenberg at one of his pit stops. On lap 57 he was also given 5 seconds for it, initially dropping behind Albon to 5th place. Mercedes requested a Right of Review and presented previously unavailable roll hoop camera footage. The stewards overturned the penalty on race day itself: Antonelli had had enough room to pass the McLaren pit box safely. Antonelli got 4th place back, and Albon was fifth again.

Winner of the day, alongside Norris, is Antonelli. The Mercedes rookie started his Formula 1 debut from 16th on the grid, gained 12 places and scored 12 points. Hülkenberg was also strong: he climbed from 17th on the grid to 7th and scored 6 points for Sauber. Stroll gained 7 places and finished sixth. Albon took 5th to bring home 10 points for Williams. Ocon and Bearman each gained 6 places but missed out on points.

The biggest loser is Piastri. At his home race he dropped from 2nd on the grid to 9th. Tsunoda started fifth and only finished twelfth. Ferrari scored just 5 points, with Leclerc 8th and Hamilton 10th. After his first race for the Scuderia, Hamilton said the team had “missed a big opportunity” (formula1.com). Alpine and the RB F1 Team left without points: Hadjar was out before the start, Doohan on the opening lap.

Standings: Norris leads the drivers' championship with 25 points ahead of Verstappen (18) and Russell (15), followed by Antonelli (12) and Albon (10). In the constructors' championship, McLaren and Mercedes are level on 27 points each, with Red Bull on 18 and Williams on 10. You can find the full table in the 2025 standings.