Lando Norris Wins Australian Grand Prix in Rain

Published: Monday, March 17, 2025

by Thomas Mazurowski

MELBOURNE, Australia — Lando Norris won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, surviving the rain and holding off a late charge from reigning Formula One champion Max Verstappen.

Norris took his McLaren to pole position during Saturday’s qualifying, with teammate Oscar Piastri starting second. Rain showers Sunday morning forced a wet start for the race. Despite treacherous conditions and several on-track incidents, Norris led all but three laps to claim the victory.

Verstappen finished second for Red Bull Racing, with Mercedes’ George Russell rounding out the podium. Despite McLaren’s dominant performance, Piastri was relegated to eighth in his home race after spinning on Lap 44.

Track conditions proved hazardous before the race even began. The circuit remained damp from morning rain, prompting nearly every team to start on treaded intermediate tires. Rookie Isack Hadjar crashed his Racing Bulls car on the formation lap, aborting the start and causing a brief delay.

A second formation lap began at 3:15 p.m. local time, with the green flag waving minutes later. The race start was surprisingly clean given the track conditions. Verstappen got a strong jump off the grid, challenging the McLarens into Turn 1 and passing Piastri for second.

Chaos followed just a few turns later. Rookie Jack Doohan of Alpine F1 slammed into the wall exiting Turn 5, bringing out the safety car. Later, Carlos Sainz backed his Williams Racing entry into the Turn 14 wall under caution.

The safety car ended on Lap 7. Norris pulled ahead, with Verstappen and Piastri trailing. A dry line quickly formed on the track, prompting race stewards to enable DRS on Lap 12. The top three ran within two seconds of each other until Lap 17. In a rare mistake from the four-time champion, Verstappen locked up and ran wide in Turn 11, allowing Piastri to pass.

The McLarens pulled away, opening up a 16-second gap to Verstappen by Lap 30, dueling on their own ahead of the field. Elsewhere, Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli ran just outside the points in 11th after starting back in 16th.

In what proved to be a pivotal moment in the Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso crashed his Aston Martin in Turn 7, bringing out another safety car. The track was barely dry enough to warrant a switch to slick tires from the treaded intermediates. Every car on track made the swap under caution.

Race engineers began raising concerns about an impending shower shortly after pit stops. The safety car ended on Lap 42, with Norris once again surging ahead.

Everything unraveled on Lap 44. Rain began to fall as both McLarens went off track in the final turns, sending Piastri spinning into Turn 13 and nearly wiping out Verstappen. Several cars either spun or went off track as drivers struggled with grip. Verstappen narrowly avoided a wreck and finally pitted for intermediate tires on Lap 46.

The safety car was deployed again after Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto crashed on opposite ends of the track. As other teams switched to treaded tires, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and veteran Lewis Hamilton stayed out on slicks to their detriment, falling behind in the closing stages. As conditions worsened, both were forced to pit for intermediates last. Leclerc finished eighth, while Hamilton placed 10th.

The race resumed on Lap 52. Norris and Verstappen opened an eight-second gap to the rest of the field. DRS was enabled on Lap 54, and Verstappen found himself within range to attempt a pass by Lap 56. Despite his efforts, Norris held on to the lead, finishing 0.859 seconds ahead of Verstappen.

There were several surprise points finishers after the checkered flag. Lance Stroll and Nico Hulkenberg snuck into sixth and seventh, respectively, by staying out of trouble. Alex Albon picked up a career-best fifth in his Williams.

It was a rough day for the six rookies. Four failed to finish, while Haas F1’s Oliver Bearman lingered at the back. Despite starting deep in the field, Antonelli recovered to a fourth-place finish after several spins, somehow managing to score 12 points in his debut for Mercedes.

Strategic blunders left Hamilton disappointed in his Ferrari debut. The seven-time champion was frustrated by constant radio messages from his race engineers throughout the day. A late pit stop and a last-lap pass from Piastri left him with just one point in the championship standings after a frustrating Grand Prix.

Formula One heads next to the Shanghai International Circuit for the Chinese Grand Prix, featuring a sprint race at 11 p.m. on Friday, March 21, followed by the Grand Prix at 3 a.m. on Sunday, March 23.

Thomas Mazurowski can be reached at thomas.mazurowski@student.shu.edu. 

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