Rhonan Colquhoun 20:51pm 16th March 2025
MCLAREN'S Lando Norris converted Pole Position into victory on the tricky streets of Albert Park with mixed conditions throughout the race that caused chaos.
Norris controlled the early stages of the race ahead of McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull's Max Verstappen as the damp conditions dried to allow the drivers to switch from the Intermediate to the dry compound tyres.
RIGHT TYRES AT THE RIGHT TIME: McLaren got all of their critical decisions right throughout the race to win round Albert Park for the first time since 2012
However, a late downpour meant that both McLaren drivers were caught out after excursions onto the grass. Home favourite Piastri plummeted down the order after beaching his McLaren at the penultimate corner.
Norris took quick action to switch back onto the Intermediate tyre while Verstappen and both Ferrari's of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc attempted to stay out on their dry tyres.
With the conditions deteriorating, Norris regained the lead as Verstappen, Hamilton and Leclerc all bailed into the pits - but a late Safety Car brought out by crashes for Kick Sauber debutant Gabriel Bortoleto and Red Bull's Liam Lawson - meant the drivers bunched up.
Despite a late charge from Verstappen who managed to get within DRS range of the McLaren, Norris withstood the pressure to cross the line first.
Behind the leading duo, Mercedes' George Russell completed the podium ahead of his rookie team-mate Kimi Antonelli who rose through order from 16th on the grid.
The challenging conditions throughout the race led to the retirements of the other two debutant rookies of Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar who crashed on the formation lap and Jack Doohan who lost control of his Alpine on the opening lap of the race.
Experienced drivers were also caught out by the conditions with Williams Carlos Sainz Jr and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso with both adding to the list of retirements.
Alexander Albon brought his Williams home in a remarkable fifth position ahead of Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and Kick Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.
The late pitstops dropped the Ferrari's of Leclerc and Hamilton to the far reaches of the point-scorers with both drivers unhappy with how late the team reacted to the changing weather conditions.
Leclerc crossed the line in eighth ahead of a recovering Piastri who had managed to creep his way back onto the track while Hamilton settled for tenth on his Ferrari debut.
The Brit was not happy in the conditions with Leclerc sweeping round the outside of his new team-mate at Turn 1 while Piastri made an incredible move round the outside of the fast chicane at Turn 9 which became the inside of Turn 10.
Alpine's Pierre Gasly claimed 11th but was running well-inside the top 10 however, a mistake by the Frenchman - running wide at Turn 1 - allowed both Ferrari's to overtake in quick succession with Piastri following suit, shuffling him outside of the points.
Racing Bulls' Yuki Tsunoda opted to pit-late in the race - staying out on dry tyres - which saw the Japanese driver lose crucial positions and ended-up crossing the line in 12th despite a brilliant effort to qualify fifth.
The 14 finishes were rounded-out by the Haas duo of Esteban Ocon and rookie Oliver Bearman with both ruing the lack of performance of the VF-25 as to why they were never in contention for points.
With the win, Norris has now broken Verstappen's reign of consecutive days leading the Drivers' Championship which spanned back to the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix while McLaren and Mercedes tie with 27 points each in the Constructor's Championship.
With seven different teams scoring points in the chaotic season-opener, only three teams - Alpine, Racing Bulls and Haas - are yet to score.
Teams and drivers don't have much time to debrief with the second race of season taking place next weekend on the 23rd of March in China.
Comments