Amidst Rain and Chaos Lando Norris Holds Off Max Verstappen in F1's Season Opener

Yahoo

16-03-2025

Lando Norris won the Australian Grand Prix from the pole Sunday afternoon, but the laps in between were anything but ordinary as rain, rookies, and bold tire calls threw havoc into every corner of the first race of the 2025 F1 season.
Norris starts his season one position ahead of Max Verstappen, who he spent all of 2024 chasing while trying to bring McLaren their first driver's championship since 2008. With his lead after the first race, McLaren leads for the first time since 2012.
The race was delayed 10 minutes when Isack Hadjar ended up in the wall on the formation lap, leading the remaining 19 cars to reset. With the temporary course in Albert Park still wet, the first lap mirrored the formation lap with a second rookie ending up in the wall, Jack Doohan in his first home grand prix and four-time race winner Carlos Sainz in his first race with Williams.
With three cars retired before one lap was completed, the race went back green on lap eight. Norris was followed by Max Verstappen, who moved to second and passed Norris' McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri on the opening lap. Nine laps later, Verstappen would make a mistake, and Piastri would retake second place to the roar of his home crowd.
Piastri was turning laps a hair faster than his teammate, and when he was within striking distance, with the track still wet, the McLaren pit wall radioed to tell their newly resigned driver to fall back. Giving fans the first taste of the controversial and often changing Papaya Rules, McLaren has to deal with having two drivers routinely competing for wins.
Fernando Alonso was the fourth driver to retire, ending up in the wall on lap 34. With the sun peeking out, the track-drying drivers took the virtual safety car as the time to pit. The field split between hard and medium tires, and the McLarens cycled back to the front.
With rain on the horizon, nine of the 10 teams gambled, pushing their slicks as far as possible. While running first and second, Norris and Piastri both lost control with Norris correcting in time to stay on the pavement and Piastri spinning into the wet grass. Piastri ultimately spun his wheels and was able to back up and regain traction on the track but his chance of winning his home Grand Prix slipped away with the spin. He would rebound to finish eighth, passing Esteban Ocon with two laps remaining and Lewis Hamilton in the final corners.
When the McLarens pitted after their spins, Max Verstappen stayed out, taking the lead for the first time this season. Ultimately, he had to box as the rain became too much to handle on slick tires.
"There was a bit of a panic," Verstappen told F1TV. "[McLaren] went in, I stayed out. The first time, honestly, I think it was all right, but the weather continued a little bit more on the other side of the track, and we then had to box. At the end of the day, even if we would've boxed one lap earlier, we still would have been P2 after that stop. I think it was worth the gamble, it was quite spicy out there on the slick tires."
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