Australian GP 2025: Norris holds off Verstappen in the rain

Lando Norris won the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park from pole position, crossing the line 0.895 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen after 57 laps of rain, slicks, more rain and three safety cars. George Russell was third and Kimi Antonelli, on his debut, fourth for Mercedes. Oscar Piastri, who looked the quicker McLaren for a spell in front of his home crowd, finished ninth.

How Norris beat Verstappen in Melbourne

The start was delayed before it happened: Isack Hadjar crashed his Racing Bulls on the formation lap, ending his first grand prix before it began. Jack Doohan, also a debutant, put his Alpine into the barrier on the opening lap to bring out the first safety car, and Carlos Sainz crashed his Williams behind it. Three cars were gone before any real racing.

On intermediates, McLaren were on another level. Verstappen had jumped Piastri at the start, then slid wide at Turn 11 on lap 17 and handed second back. By the time Fernando Alonso crashed his Aston Martin on lap 34, the two McLarens were around 16 seconds clear. That safety car erased the gap, and almost everyone switched to slicks.

The rain returned around lap 44. Norris and Piastri both ran wide at Turn 12; Norris kept going and pitted for intermediates at once, while Piastri slithered onto the grass beyond Turn 13 and lost a lot of time getting back. Verstappen stayed out on slicks a couple of laps longer and lost time, but crashes for Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto brought out the third safety car and put him right behind Norris. Norris got the restart right. Verstappen was within DRS range on the penultimate lap but never close enough to try a move.

The teammate duels in Melbourne

McLaren. Norris took pole by 0.084 seconds and won the race, so he leads Norris vs Piastri 1–0 on both counts on F1 Duels. The race score flatters him a little. Piastri had been closing in before a mistake at Turn 6 cost him about three seconds, and the late spin turned a likely second place into ninth.

Mercedes. Antonelli's weekend began with floor damage and a Q1 exit in 16th. From there he climbed to fourth, kept it after Mercedes won a review of his unsafe-release penalty hours after the flag, and still lost the head-to-head to Russell on both days. Russell's drive from fourth to third was quiet and complete.

Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton's first race in red ended in defeat to his team-mate. Leclerc out-qualified him by 0.218 seconds, seventh to eighth, after Hamilton spun at Turn 11 in qualifying. When the rain came back both stayed out on slicks: Hamilton briefly led before pitting, Leclerc spun at Turn 11 and recovered to eighth, two places ahead. Hamilton vs Leclerc opens 1–0 to Leclerc in both columns.

Red Bull. Liam Lawson's promotion started with an engine problem in final practice, a Q1 exit in 18th and a crash at Turn 2 in the late rain. Our model does not score his race, so the only entry so far is qualifying, where he was 1.415% of a lap slower than Verstappen.

Further back, Lance Stroll took sixth and Nico Hülkenberg seventh from 17th on the grid. Both had team-mates who out-qualified them and then crashed out, which leaves those two duels with a Saturday result and nothing on Sunday.

What it means for the championship

Norris leaves Melbourne with 25 points, seven clear of Verstappen, with Russell third on 15. McLaren and Mercedes are level on 27 points in the constructors' standings, which is what Piastri's spin cost in plain numbers. All ten verdicts from the weekend are on the Australian GP duels page.