What we learned from the F1 Australian Grand Prix

The start to the 2025 F1 season taught us a few things about the grid, but there is a long way to go before we get the big answers

Entering the 2025 Formula 1 season one of the many questions facing the grid was whether Lando Norris had learned exactly what it takes to fight at the front with the best in the world, specifically Max Verstappen.

While Norris broke through in 2024 with his first Grand Prix victory in Miami, and ended the season with four Grand Prix wins, he won those going away. The closest Verstappen was to him in any of those races came in Miami, where Norris finished more than seven seconds ahead of the Red Bull driver.

Norris’ wins at the Dutch Grand Prix and in Singapore came with Verstappen finishing a distant second — more than 20 seconds back in each case — and his season-ending win in Abu Dhabi came with Charles Leclerc, and not Verstappen, in his mirrors.

So on Sunday at the Australian Grand Prix with the circuit wet and Verstappen closing in, how would Norris handle the situation?

He held off Verstappen, picking up his fifth career Grand Prix win and putting himself atop the F1 Drivers’ Championship standings. The McLaren driver admitted after the race that the situation was new for him, and holding off Verstappen showed improvement from 2024.

“That situation was new for me,” said Norris in the FIA Press Conference following the Australian Grand Prix. I’ve never led a race with five laps to go with Max behind me, trying to put me under pressure, in these conditions. Maybe Max has had that a few times – he’s raced against Lewis a lot and can deal with it better than I can. For me, it was a first. So, it was about seeing how I handled it when I got there.

“I’m happy I got through it and stayed calm. It’s something I improved from last year.”

As Norris himself kept emphasizing on Sunday, Australia is just one of 24 race weekends. There is a long way to go before a champion is crowned.

But Norris was more than up to the moment on Sunday in Melbourne, and that is everything he, and McLaren, were hoping to see this season.

You can never count out Max Verstappen

Photo by Jayce Illman/Getty Images

Max Verstappen entered the Australian Grand Prix downplaying his chances in the season-opening race, and noting that he was not expecting any “miracles” after qualifying third behind Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Still, he almost delivered one.

Verstappen kept the pressure on during the early stages of the Australian Grand Prix, but when his intermediate tires started to give way, things turned into a two-car race at the front between Norris and Piastri.

But Verstappen kept his head down, and as a quick shower sparked chaos on the track in the later stages of the race, Verstappen found himself back in the lead, as he stayed out on a set of medium tires as Norris dipped into the pits for a set of intermediates, and Piastri was trying to get going again after sliding into the grass.

Verstappen ultimately gave up the ghost on the following lap, veering down pit lane for his own set of intermediates. But when the race went green again he was all over the rear wing of Norris’ MCL39, closing to within DRS range over the final laps.

While he could never shape an overtake of Norris before the checkered flag, it was a reminder that even when he does not have the best car on the grid, he can still be a force to be reckoned with at the front.

That was the case last year as well. Even though the RB20 was not the dominant package that its predecessor was in 2023, Verstappen finished in the points in every race save one: The Australian Grand Prix.

Norris may have won on Sunday, but there is a long, long way to go this season. And as Verstappen showed in Melbourne, you can never count him out.

Heartbreak, but determination, from Oscar Piastri

During the buildup to the Australian Grand Prix one question followed Oscar Piastri everywhere he went:

Could he be the first Australian driver to win the Australian Grand Prix?

Since the Australian Grand Prix officially became part of the F1 calendar in 1985, a hometown driver has never stood on the top step of the podium. Piastri certainly had a chance, as he started second on Sunday and closed within Norris during the middle stages of the race.

But then, everything changed.

Piastri was given a set of team orders — sure to be a talking point over the next few days — to hold in place while he and Norris in front of him cleared some backmarkers. But Piastri then had a wobble at Turn 6, finding a bit of gravel, which saw him lose time behind Norris.

On the following lap, Piastri found the gravel again at Turn 6, sliding further away from his teammate.

Eventually, the team order was rescinded and Piastri was free to race, but that is when true disaster struck. As the rain began to fall in Melbourne and Piastri was on a set of slicks, he spun deep into the grass and could only watch as Verstappen rocketed by him and into P2.

Undaunted, Piastri eventually backed out of the grass and back onto the track and was able to get going again. He pitted for a set of intermediates and rejoined the fight in P11, managing to climb up to P9 for the checkered flag.

“A disappointing result after a really positive weekend. I had the speed and I felt in very good shape to fight for the win. Unfortunately, at the end, I just lost it in the sudden rain,” said Piastri in the team’s post-race report. “Thanks to the team for all their efforts and thanks to all the Australian fans who have given me so much good energy and support over the last few days. It means a lot.”

Social media was quickly filled with video of Piastri’s effort to get out of the grass, as the Melbourne faithful willed him back to the track:

Piastri might have fallen short of history on Sunday in Melbourne, but that determination will certainly serve him well in the future.

A future that sees him tied to McLaren for years to come.

Midfield looks to be anything but mid

Beyond the fight at the front, some of the names that finished in the points were truly fascinating.

You had Alex Albon from Williams finishing fifth, Lance Stroll from Aston Martin finishing sixth, and Nico Hülkenberg, in his Sauber debut, finishing seventh.

While strategy and conditions certainly played a role, those results will be critical for their respective teams — and for those drivers — as the season unfolds.

We can start with Albon, who advanced to Q3 along with Carlos Sainz Jr. and started the race in P6 alongside Yuki Tsunoda. Albon called the result “fantastic” in his post-race remarks.

“I’m really happy. It was such a crazy race, I’m still trying to get my head around it! It’s fantastic for the team – a P5 is very special and may not come around many times this year. Our strategist did an amazing job,” said Albon. “Honestly, it was so difficult out there; these conditions are typically what we hate and, despite all of that, we were still one of the strongest midfield runners out there. Points like today mean a lot and I’m positive about what’s to come.”

Albon even gave credit to Sainz, who was on the pit wall after his incident earlier in the race and reportedly made a strategy call for Albon that paid off in the end.

“We’re a very bonded team, it was great to have Carlos helping on the pit wall too,” added Albon.

“At least being outside of the car I could help the strategy team do the right call with Alex,” said Sainz during the race. “I think we might have just boxed Alex on the perfect lap. So at least I have been useful out of the car too.”

Albon admitted after the race that he did not agree with the call at the time to pit for intermediates, but ultimately it was the right call.

“It was a great strategy,” he told the F1 channel. “I have to say Charles, our strategist, did a great job.

“I didn’t agree with his call to put me in. The track was bone-dry in sector one and two when I came out, but it was the right call and I’m just really happy for everyone.”

Hülkenberg looked to be on the back foot heading into Sunday, as he was eliminated in Q1 on Saturday, but the veteran driver kept his nose clean and was in position to capitalize after the late-stage chaos.

He noted that sometimes it helps to have luck on your side.

“It was a matter of just staying in the race and waiting for our opportunity. The safety car then obviously put us back in the race for the points, when it started to rain towards the end. We managed to pit exactly in the right moment ahead of others,” said Hülkenberg in the team’s media report. “Sometimes you got to be lucky. With others having some trouble, we stayed clean and rewarded ourselves with [these] nice six points. I would like to thank the entire team for the hard work to make that happen.”

Then there is Stroll, who often faces criticism and questions over his spot at Aston Martin given his father’s ownership of the team. While a single P6 result likely does not stop those questions, that finish is evidence of what can happen when the team gets things right, and Stroll can deliver on the track.

“That was a super tricky race, so it’s good to come away with some big points for the team. I’m happy with that, for sure.

“We knew from the start that it was about staying on track and being on the right tire at the right time, and we did that today. It’s always a real balance of risk versus reward in these changing conditions. You’ve got to stay clean and consistent,” said Stroll after the race.

“The team made a great call bringing me in for the Intermediate tires towards the end of the race. They were across the forecast and we made up positions because of it,” added the driver.

“The car still isn’t where we want it to be – we’ve got to keep pushing for improvements – but that makes it even more important to make the most of opportunities like we did today.”

Add these together and what did we learn?

The fight in the midfield is going to be fascinating this season.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli might just live up to the hype

Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

The 2025 F1 season began with six drivers earning full-time promotions: Jack Doohan at Alpine, Oliver Bearman at Haas, Liam Lawson at Red Bull, Isack Hadjar at Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, Gabriel Bortoleto at Sauber, and Andrea Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes.

When the checkered flag flew on Sunday four of those drivers — Lawson, Doohan, Hadjar, and Bortoleto — had already retired. Bearman was the last driver on the grid, which was something of an accomplishment given his crashes in both FP1 and FP3, and the gearbox failure that knocked him out of Q1 on Saturday.

And Antonelli was less than two seconds away from a podium in his debut.

Antonelli arrived at Mercedes to much fanfare, and he lived up to that hype in his first F1 race. While he was eliminated in Q1 on Saturday and started in P16, he managed to handle the tricky conditions like a driver with a decade of experience in F1 and put himself in a position to deliver big points in his first race.

That caught the attention of everyone at Mercedes.

“Kimi did an amazing job for his first race. To come through from P16 to P4 at any time is impressive,” said George Russell, who finished in third ahead of Antonelli to give Mercedes a P3-P4 result. “To do it on his Grand Prix debut is therefore fantastic. He deserved that result after yesterday where he was unlucky to suffer floor damage in Qualifying.”

“George drove a superb and controlled race to finish on the podium, whilst Kimi showed a great deal of maturity, in addition to the speed we know he has, to fight through from P16 to P4,” said Team Principal Toto Wolff.

Again, there is a long way to go this season, and mistakes are sure to come for the rookie. But if his debut in the rain is any indication, he is going to live up to the hype.

The learning curve might be a little steeper at Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari made the Scuderia a central figure heading into the 2025 season.

On Sunday Ferrari was certainly must-watch television, but not for the reasons they hoped.

Hamilton’s communications with new race engineer Ricardo Adami illustrated that there is still going to be a learning process as the two work together, as on several occasions Adami was offering advice but Hamilton asked to be left to his own devices in the car.

On the other side of the garage an exchange between Charles Leclerc and his race engineer Bryan Bozzi quickly went viral, as it seemed the driver was working on his tight five for a set at the Laugh Hut and not, you know, driving an F1 car in the middle of a race:

https://x.com/cjzero/status/1901137481400975549

“Let’s add that to the words of wisdom.” Incredible.

Then, of course, there was the strategy call to leave Hamilton out on a set of slicks when the rain began to fall in the closing stages. Hamilton assumed the lead as the rest of the field dove into the pits, but ultimately he had to come in as well, surrendering all the positions he picked up by staying out

“It intensified a little bit in the last sector, but the rest of the track was okay,” said Hamilton to the F1 channel. “Obviously I didn’t know where everybody else was.

“I knew people had stopped [for intermediates], but ultimately then all of a sudden it started raining and I didn’t know, no one told me that it was raining more elsewhere, and all of a sudden I was faced with it around the rest of the track. It was a bit of an opportunity missed, but I’m glad I kept it on-track.”

The learning process might take a little bit longer than Ferrari fans were hoping for. Still, this is just one race of 24 race weekends, so there is a lot of time to get everyone on the same page.