Norris makes perfect start to win season opener

Norris makes perfect start to win season opener: Analysis of the Australian Grand Prix, brought to you by Bahrain International Circuit

It was a long three and a half month wait for fans to see competitive racing back underway in F1, as the sport rolled into Melbourne for the season opener. That patience was rewarded for those watching the race in Australia, as the teams battled it out in wet conditions, the six rookies tried to get to grips with their new cars, Lewis Hamilton raced for the first time in the red of Ferrari, McLaren began their long campaign to defend their title and a number of drivers jostled to give themselves the best start in the fight to take away Max Verstappen’s drivers’ title. That combination provided over two hours of spectacular racing and incidents which gave fans a first glimpse of how the early stages of the 2025 season might play out.

The first taste of real action and the chance to see the early season pecking order came in Saturday’s qualifying. It was a front row lockout for McLaren, which probably came as little surprise to many in the paddock. During pre-season testing at BIC, there had been a lot of chatter amongst rivals and pundits that McLaren would start the season strongest, despite not necessarily showing that in the testing timesheets. In third was Max Verstappen, with the Red Bull improving significantly throughout the weekend, followed by George Russell in the Mercedes in fourth. We then had a surprise appearance from Yuki Tsunoda in the Racing Bull and Alex Albon in the Williams, both ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in their Ferraris, who completed the top eight. Whilst there would be much to analyse from that timesheet, we were swiftly on to Sunday and a chance to see how each would perform under race conditions.

What was evident as the car arrived on grid was that the weather would play a major part. It was inevitable that the race would start with everyone on intermediate wet tyres, but the question would be whether there could be dry enough spells for slick tyres. As a coastal venue, forecasts are notoriously difficult, so the weather uncertainty would be a theme throughout the race.

The rain caught out its first victim before the race even started as Isack Hadjar spun into the barrier on the warmup lap, whilst Jack Doohan had a similar result on lap 1. But it wasn’t just the rookie drivers suffering, as Carlos Sainz also found the barrier on lap 1, showing that even the most experienced drivers could come unstuck in these tricky conditions.

Up front, the two McLaren’s started well and by lap 25 were over 10 seconds ahead of Verstappen in third. The gap continued to grow until lap 33, when Alonso span his Aston Martin into the barriers leading to a safety car. This coincided with a period where the rain had eased and the track had dried sufficiently for the slick tyres to become a viable option. All teams, except for Haas, opted for dry tyres, but the complication was that the threat of rain was ever-present.

By lap 45 more persistent rain took hold. With drivers sliding around the track just trying to get back to the pits and the relative safety of a set of intermediate wet tyres again, Oscar Piastri, who was looking solid in second in his home race, spun off onto the grass and took somewhile to get back onto the tarmac. When he finally changed his tyres, he found himself at the back, ending the dream of a home win. He would later claw back several places to at least earn some points in ninth.

With Ferrari pitting later than others, Leclerc and Hamilton’s midfield position was little improved and they would finish in eighth and tenth respectively, sandwiched between Piastri. Further upfront, whilst Verstappen got within DRS range of Norris towards the end, the Englishman held his nerve for a well-earned victory and the perfect start of his campaign. Verstappen would have been pretty happy with second place, whilst George Russell largely avoided any of the drama around him to finish third, just ahead of his teammate Antonelli in fourth. Alex Albon continued to show that Williams is starting the season in much better shape than last year with an impressive fifth, with Stroll in the Aston Martin in sixth and Hulkenberg seventh.

This victory was a significant marker put down by Norris. As was mentioned on commentary these were “Max conditions” but despite the pressure, despite the fact that the rain acted as a leveler across the field, despite the numerous restarts and the pressure at the end from the Red Bull, Norris won through. More broadly, the team made the right strategy calls at the right time and had clearly learned from similar races last year, where strategy decisions hadn’t gone their way.

Whilst Norris and Piastri showed a fair bit of daylight between them and the rest of the field, there were mixed signs elsewhere. Verstappen yet again showed his ability to get the most of his car, which is probably a comfortable second in dry conditions. Ferrari, on the other hand, look as though they will need some early development work to catch up, whilst Mercedes will hope that their early promise keeps them around the podium. The surprise package was probably Williams and the Racing Bulls, both of whom showed real progress compared to last year.

F1 moves straight to Chaina for back-to-back races and whilst it’s still very early days in the season, there will be pressure on all teams to build momentum. And with just under a month to go until F1 arrives in Bahrain, that early season uncertainly will no doubt remain, so if you haven’t picked up your ticket for the race weekend, head to Bahraingp.com so you don’t miss out on what is expected to be a hugely competitive season of racing.