Norris wins in Australia in intermittent rain

Lando Norris won the Australian Grand Prix after a race filled with incidents and changing weather conditions at the Albert Park circuit. The British McLaren driver withstood the final pressure from Max Verstappen, who finished second less than a second behind, while George Russell completed the top three.

Setbacks Before the Start

The weekend in Melbourne was affected by weather conditions. Heavy rain forced the cancellation of the main Formula 2 race, while the F3 race ended with a red flag after an extensive safety car intervention.

By the time of the F1 session, the track had dry areas but also wet patches and standing water. Isack Hadjar, a rookie with Racing Bull, became the first retirement of the 2025 season after losing control at turn 2 during the formation lap, hitting the wall and severely damaging the rear of his car.

This incident forced the cancellation of the original start, delaying the procedure by an additional ten minutes.

Eventful Opening Laps

When the race finally started, Verstappen took advantage to overtake Oscar Piastri and secure second place, while Norris maintained the lead. However, the race was quickly neutralized due to two serious accidents.

Jack Doohan, in his second F1 appearance with Alpine, lost control after driving over a slippery painted line, crashing into the barriers. Almost simultaneously, Carlos Sainz in the Williams suffered a heavy impact at turn 14, also retiring from the race.

During this period, Charles Leclerc managed to advance to fifth place in his Ferrari, behind George Russell in the Mercedes.

McLaren Takes the Lead

The race resumed on lap 8, with Norris pulling away from Verstappen while the Red Bull driver fended off pressure from Piastri. However, the Dutch driver reported issues with tire wear on his intermediate tires and made a mistake on lap 17, allowing Piastri to move into second place.

The Australian tried to close the gap to his teammate, but a small slip at turn 6 on lap 33 cost him two seconds, allowing Norris to extend his lead.

Weather Changes and Tactical Adjustments

One lap later, Fernando Alonso crashed at turn 7, prompting another safety car intervention. Teams took advantage of this situation to switch to dry tires: Norris and Piastri opted for hard compounds, Verstappen chose mediums, while Russell and Leclerc went for softs.

The race resumed on lap 42 with the McLaren duo leading, but this only lasted three laps. A light rain shower caught the drivers by surprise, causing both McLaren cars to lose traction and slide into the gravel. Piastri dropped to the back of the field, while Norris had to pit immediately, handing the lead to Verstappen.

McLaren quickly fitted intermediates to Norris, while Red Bull decided to keep Verstappen on dry tires despite the increasing rain. Lewis Hamilton took advantage of the situation to move into second place, followed by Pierre Gasly.

Norris Recovers Positions in the Rain

Verstappen finally pitted on lap 46 as the rain intensified, rejoining in fifth place. Meanwhile, the intermediate tires gave Norris the advantage he needed to pass Leclerc and Hamilton, reclaiming the lead.

With ten laps to go, another safety car was deployed after a double crash involving Liam Lawson (Red Bull) and Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber). Ferrari took the opportunity to call Hamilton and Leclerc in for tire changes, dropping them to ninth and tenth respectively.

Final Battle for Positions

The race restarted on lap 52 with Norris pulling away from Verstappen, while Russell defended third place from Alex Albon. Kimi Antonelli, who had climbed to fourth after passing Albon, received a penalty for an unsafe pit exit, dropping him to fifth.

Verstappen attempted a final attack on Norris on the last lap, but the British driver held his position to cross the line just 0.895 seconds ahead. Oscar Piastri managed to recover to ninth place, overtaking Hamilton in the closing laps.

Final Classification of the 2025 Australian Grand Prix

Pos.	Driver	Team
1	L. Norris	McLaren
2	M. Verstappen	Red Bull
3	G. Russell	Mercedes
4	A. Albon	Williams
5	K. Antonelli	Mercedes
6	L. Stroll	Aston Martin
7	N. Hulkenberg	Kick Sauber
8	C. Leclerc	Ferrari
9	O. Piastri	McLaren
10	L. Hamilton	Ferrari
11	P. Gasly	Alpine
12	Y. Tsunoda	RB
13	E. Ocon	Haas
14	O. Bearman	Haas
15	L. Lawson	Red Bull
16	G. Bortoleto	Kick Sauber
17	F. Alonso	Aston Martin
18	C. Sainz Jr.	Williams
19	J. Doohan	Alpine
20	I. Hadjar	RB