Lando Norris earned a hard-fought victory for McLaren to win the Australian Grand Prix, starting the season on a good note. Norris, who started from the pole position, managed to hold the lead for most of the race, finishing ahead of Max Verstappen and George Russell, who finished second and third, respectively.
The race started under wet conditions, with Norris leading the pack. It did not take time before the race was interrupted by early crashes involving Carlos Sainz, Jack Doohan, and Isack Hadjar, all of whom failed to complete the first lap. Sainz, in his first race for Williams, suffered a “big torque kick” while upshifting, forcing him to quit the race. There were also three Safety Car periods, with several drivers failing to finish, including Fernando Alonso and Liam Lawson.
Verstappen initially pressured Norris but struggled with tyre wear and made an error at Turn 11, allowing Oscar Piastri to move into second place. But even with a late surge, Verstappen still managed to finish just 0.8 seconds behind Norris.
During the final stages of the race, intense rain caused both McLaren drivers to veer off track. While Piastri managed to recover from a spin, Verstappen briefly took the lead before pitting for intermediate tyres. Norris seized the opportunity to take back the lead and hold off Verstappen’s late charge to win.
Russell made sure Mercedes featured on the podium in the first race, while Alex Albon secured a commendable fourth place for Williams. Kimi Antonelli initially finished fourth but was demoted to fifth due to a penalty, before being promoted to fourth again after he was cleared of the penalties leveled against him. Ferrari’s gamble to stay on slick tyres backfired, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finishing eighth and tenth, respectively.
The Australian Grand Prix has set the pace for what is expected to be a thrilling season. The result recorded will allow teams to know what areas they need to improve on and what they need to maintain ahead of the China GP holding next weekend.
