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The first day of Lewis Hamilton dressed in red at a Formula 1 race weekend has arrived. In Melbourne, the seven-time World Champion is understandably the most anticipated star at the traditional meeting with journalists, which takes place on Thursday, March 13, 2025. The driver from Stevenage, the king of the driver market with his much-discussed move to Ferrari, is very confident, convinced of the added value he can bring to the Maranello team, and unfazed by the enormous media attention surrounding this incredible pairing.
"I believe that over the years, the pressure I’ve put on myself has always been ten times greater than any pressure others could put on me. I didn’t join this team to feel pressure. I have expectations for myself. I know what I can bring, I know I can deliver results. I know what it takes to do it. It’s just about keeping my head down and working. I’m coming into this weekend with a very open mindset".
Continuing his reflection, Hamilton also explains that he has isolated himself from social media. The self-confidence, which the English driver has never lacked, should not be confused with arrogance:
"I’m not assuming it will be easy, it’s not, and as I’ve said, I know what I can give, but I don’t feel the pressure. The external pressure doesn’t exist for me. The pressure comes from within and from what I want to achieve. I’m not here to prove anything to anyone".
In the press conference room, Lewis Hamilton is alongside his successor at Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and the two share a few jokes:
"Look at this young man here, I’m happy for him. He’s doing very well, he’s behaving well".
Kimi responds, visibly excited:
"He’s not only a great driver, but also a great person".
The new Mercedes driver, who grew up in the Brackley team's academy, is visibly emotional in his first press conference as a full-time driver, sharing the stage with Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz Jr..
"First of all, it’s a pretty surreal feeling to race with someone like Lewis. Once I joined Mercedes, I grew up watching him. He’s had incredible success. It’s a bit strange for me to share the track with him, but also with Carlos and all the other drivers. When you’re used to seeing them on TV and then you finally get to share the track with them, it’s an incredible feeling".
The young Italian driver also reveals to the journalists that he received some valuable advice from the British driver:
"Last year I was able to go on track a bit and towards the end of the season, I started working with the team. Lewis has always been kind to me and even gave me some advice. And he even wrote me a message in the driver’s room, right? I’ll get to see it very soon. He’s been very kind to me, and I’m really grateful for it because it shows he’s not just a great driver but also a great person".
Starting the World Championship not as the pre-season favorite is a new experience for Max Verstappen, who won his first World Championship in 2021 on the last lap, and then didn’t let go of it in the following three years.
The 2024 World Championship started similarly to the dominance seen in 2023, but the situation soon changed to the point where the Dutch driver began to doubt his chances of defending the title. Max Verstappen managed to do so, but now he prefers to approach the new season with a different philosophy.
"Will this be the hardest year for me in terms of defending the title? Honestly, I’m not even thinking about it right now. There are so many things that make me prefer not to think about the title. We’re not the fastest right now; the goal is to give 100% with the team, do my part on track, minimize mistakes, and always get points. Then we’ll see".
So, will we see a new Max Verstappen, ready to race with a more calculated approach to try to have a chance in a final sprint? Regarding the on-track values, the Dutch driver emphasizes that, as he saw in 2024, things in Formula 1 can change quickly:
"In Bahrain, the car showed some improvement, but we know there’s still a lot of work to do, and that’s what we’ll focus on. In Australia, the track is totally different, so we have no idea how the car will behave, and we’ll discover that this weekend. The car has improved in terms of drivability, but we need to be patient and keep looking for some development margin, although it’s getting tough now, with this being the last year of this regulatory cycle. Anyway, in Formula 1, things can change quickly".
With more than a 90% chance of rain and wind possibly exceeding 30 km/h, the weather forecast for the Australian Grand Prix is not ideal. However, despite the possibility of racing in wet conditions that could shake things up and reduce the expected performance gap between Red Bull Racing and McLaren Racing, Max Verstappen clearly says he doesn’t want the first Grand Prix of the season to be affected by rain.
"Actually, I would like it to be dry because it’s more fun, even for the fans. But if it’s wet, it’s wet. That’s fine too, but right now, I don’t know how we’ll perform in either dry or wet conditions, so it’s a bit difficult to say what would be better".
During the last World Championship, Max Verstappen won the São Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil, recovering from P17 in heavy rain. But aside from the weather conditions, the Dutch driver doesn’t miss the opportunity to entertain the media with some of his usual sharp responses, for example, about the Drive to Survive series, of which he has never been a fan:
"Criticism of DTS? I’m not surprised… I haven’t watched it. It’s a shame when these things pop up on X, but you just ignore them quickly so they don’t reappear in your feed. Block them? No, you shouldn’t block them because then they’ll see it. If you ignore it, no one knows".
Finally, the Red Bull Racing driver is also part of a fun skit with Oscar Piastri, who jokingly offers to answer questions directed at Max Verstappen, for a fee:
"If you pay me a fee, I can answer all the questions".
Max Verstappen immediately responds with a witty remark about Piastri’s recent contract renewal with McLaren:
"Do you want to sign a contract? You’re good at that. I could write a little cover letter".
Oscar Piastri is preparing for his third year in Formula 1 with the clear goal of fighting for the World Championship. He certainly has the killer instinct, but to be competitive, he will need to be consistent throughout the season. Ahead of the season, Oscar Piastri confirmed his contract renewal with McLaren beyond the initial 2026 deadline: a great way to start the World Championship, knowing he is at the center of the project, just like Lando Norris.
"I’m happy to have extended my contract, and I didn’t even have to think about it when the opportunity came up. It’s very reassuring to know I have many years ahead of me with this team. All the key figures at McLaren have long-term contracts, starting with Andrea Stella and Zak Brown. For both me and the team, renewing the agreement was natural".
Oscar Piastri is ready to seize his opportunities in the title chase:
"I have full confidence in my abilities, and with Norris, we start from zero to zero. Both of us will fight for the championship. I’ve worked a lot on the weaknesses that emerged during last season. Have we set engagement rules with the team? Simple, the fastest will be ahead. We are happy with the tests we did in Bahrain, but we won’t know the true potential of the teams until Saturday".
Everything is ready for the much-anticipated Australian Grand Prix, which will open a Formula 1 season for the first time since 2019. The starting grid will once again feature Max Verstappen as the reigning World Champion. On the other hand, McLaren Racing arrives as the reigning Constructors' World Champion, and the pre-season tests suggest that the British team might have the best cars. However, the Vice World Champion, Lando Norris, emphasizes that the first race of the new World Championship will not be easy for McLaren Racing, believing the Woking team should not be considered the favorite for the season opener despite their good work in the tests:
"I’m happy, I can’t wait to start. I’m relaxed, which is probably the best thing of all. I feel calm, I feel ready to go. Many people would take that as a sign of confidence. I believe we have a good car, a good car to start the season, but I don’t think we are superior to any of our main competitors. Obviously, there’s been a lot of talk in the last two weeks, but I don’t think we’re ahead of our competitors compared to last season, or that people think we are. I still think it will be a tough weekend for us, and we’ll have to fight with everyone, but I believe we are in a good position to start strong and confident. That’s how we want to be and how we want to start the season".
On multiple occasions, McLaren's rivals have considered the cars produced in Woking to be the most competitive. Are these serious comments or psychological games? In response to this question from journalists, Lando Norris says:
"I don’t know, I don’t know what they are doing! They like to talk, that’s for sure, but who cares! It doesn’t matter, we’ll see tomorrow and in the coming days. I think we’re in a good position, that’s clear, it’s obvious. We did a good test in Bahrain, but I don’t think we are faster than the others, especially in the low-fuel runs. I know that’s where you can hide the most, but I’ve also heard a lot about how others have hidden and not shown much. I think you’ll be surprised because it seems like all the comments are going in one direction right now, and it’s nice to hear so many people talking about us. But I believe, from our point of view, and personally, nothing has changed. We don’t think we are superior to any of the other teams. I think we’re in a very similar situation to the other top three competitors, and we need to work hard to make sure we’re ahead of them this weekend".
After the long break, on Friday, March 14, 2025, teams and drivers will hit the track in Melbourne for the first two free practice sessions. However, it won’t be until Qualifying that we’ll discover the real potential of the cars, and the verdict will not be final as the Australian track is very unique. In this regard, Charles Leclerc says:
“To surprise as an outsider because McLaren is the favorite and all the attention is on Hamilton? Honestly, I don’t pay attention to these things. My job is to turn everything that happens within the team into technical insights, what works and what doesn’t. This year, for me, it’s a quieter build-up because on the other side of the garage, there’s Hamilton, and it’s just right and natural that he gets some attention, it’s good for our sport as well. I’ll continue to do what I’ve always done, stay focused on myself, and try to start off on the right foot. I’m ready, extremely motivated, and I can’t wait to get in the car tomorrow. The double win in 2024? An F1 driver needs to reset every weekend. Two-tenths is nothing in a 1'30”0 or 1'40"0 lap, and it can put you either ahead or behind very quickly. In Bahrain, I believe McLaren was faster, but I don’t know if it will be the same this weekend because this is a track on its own. Anyway, our goal is the World Championship, regardless of how we start the season, whether as hunters or hares. Obviously, I hope to start ahead, but if not, we’ll just have to stay calm and work hard like we did in 2024, a year in which I believe we made a remarkable comeback in the second half of the season. We’ll see from tomorrow where we are. We’ve spent a lot of time together and got to know each other better. We’ve talked about our passions. I can’t wait to be on track with him at the same time, with the same car, to analyze each other’s strengths starting tomorrow".
Lewis Hamilton is undoubtedly the driver who attracts the most attention during Thursday’s press conference in Melbourne. The English driver, making his first public appearance in a race weekend as a Scuderia Ferrari driver, doesn’t miss the chance to entertain the journalists, showing a great mood. The seven-time World Champion, who joined Scuderia Ferrari aiming for an eighth title that would set an absolute record in Formula 1 history, also talks about his relationship with Charles Leclerc, highlighting his strong work ethic and visceral sense of belonging to Scuderia Ferrari.
"What impressed me most about Leclerc? Besides his fantastic hair? And his eyes? I mean, he’s a good-looking guy".
Lewis Hamilton says, triggering laughter from the journalists present. However, the English driver then gets serious and talks about the good relationship with the Monegasque driver, emphasizing his great work ethic and strong connection to Ferrari.
"I was impressed by his work ethic, it’s impressive. I didn’t know that because, of course, you can’t know what happens behind the scenes. I think every driver works really hard, but each one has a different approach. It’s been really interesting to see".
The British driver compares Charles Leclerc’s approach to work with his own, finding some similarities.
"It’s not much different from my way of working. He’s a guy who works hard and gives his best. Of course, he’s been part of the team for a long time. It’s his second team in Formula 1, but he’s spent a lot of time at Ferrari. He’s really Mr. Ferrari. It’s really nice to work alongside him, and I can’t wait to experience the season together".
Presenting the 2025 Formula 1 season, all the insiders emphasize the great balance expected in this World Championship, with four teams - as happened in the second half of last year - potentially able to alternate at the top and compete for wins depending on the type of track.
In the four-way battle between McLaren Racing, Scuderia Ferrari, Red Bull Racing, and Mercedes, however, George Russell has no doubt in naming the defending World Champion team as the big favorite for the victory in the first race of the year, scheduled for Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Melbourne. The English driver from Mercedes even labels the British cars as dominant.
"We can’t deceive ourselves, we know that McLaren is definitely the favorite right now. They look absolutely dominant, and I’m sure they’ll be the favorites".
However, George Russell highlights the progress made by his team in developing the W16:
"The car is good, I think that last year, even though we finished in the lowest position in the last three years, we won the most races. I’m confident this car will be a little more consistent and less aggressive. Maybe we won’t see those huge peaks we had in Las Vegas that led us to dominate that weekend, but I also hope we won’t see the lows we saw in other races".
In 2024, the Mercedes team embarked on a virtuous path that brought them closer to the other top teams after yet another difficult start, and achieved four victories throughout the season. The Brackley team showed good qualifying pace in the tests but still needed to improve their race pace, especially compared to McLaren Racing’s. In this regard, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes that the W16 starts as the fourth force in the World Championship.
"As a team, we had an uphill challenge during the winter. Our competitors ended the 2024 season successfully, and we know that Ferrari, Red Bull, and McLaren, in particular, should have an initial advantage over our performance. We can be satisfied with the work done during the winter and the tests. Both drivers positively commented on the W16 after the three days in Bahrain, and it seems we’ve made some improvements. Of course, the only thing that matters is comparing ourselves to our competitors. This weekend, we will certainly have a clearer picture about that".
The last New Zealand driver to win a Grand Prix in Formula 1 was Danny Hulme in 1974, in Argentina, driving for McLaren. Asked about the possibility of ending this long wait, Liam Lawson responds without exaggeration:
"Obviously, all of us drivers dream of winning a Grand Prix, but I think I still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do before thinking about such big goals. For example, there are many tracks I haven’t raced on in Formula 1, so I still need to gain experience".
He continues:
"How do I feel about my 'debut' in Red Bull? I’ve been working towards this goal for six years since I joined the junior program. It’s definitely a great opportunity".
Liam Lawson is about to experience his first year as a full-time driver for Red Bull Racing, an opportunity that may come at the wrong time for the New Zealand driver, as the performance of the cars produced in Milton Keynes seems to be on the decline.
"McLaren was certainly impressive in Bahrain. This weekend, we’ll see more or less where we stand. Waché said that the improvements haven’t yet reached the targets? I believe Verstappen might have a clearer idea than I do about the current form of the car, based on the last two years. We obviously want to improve the car".
Scuderia Ferrari is preparing for the big debut. The team principal, Frederic Vasseur, enters with a fair amount of confidence, despite a preseason that began with high expectations but ended with more than a few question marks.
"The wait is over, we’re ready to hit the track for the first race of the season. In a way, it feels like going back to the past since it’s been a few years since Australia hosted the opening round. The Albert Park street circuit is not particularly representative of what we will face throughout the rest of the season, but we did well here last year and are confident about the weekend ahead".
Frederic Vasseur doesn’t hide the doubts that arose during the pre-season tests:
"Naturally, there are many unknowns, and we’re eager to discover the on-track hierarchy, especially since the test results in Bahrain were difficult to interpret. During the winter, we worked hard at the factory in Maranello, and Charles Leclerc, in particular, focused on his physical preparation, while Lewis Hamilton gave his best to integrate into the team as quickly as possible".
Ambitions remain high:
"I believe we have everything we need to do well, but as always, we will first focus on ourselves, knowing that this is only the beginning of a very long season. A week ago, we received a wonderful welcome in Milan from a sea of Ferrari fans, and now, in Melbourne, we want to give our best to give them something to be proud of".
Three free practice sessions are currently being held for the event. On Friday, March 14, 2025, the first free practice session is taking place at 12:30 p.m. local time, and is topped by Lando Norris in the McLaren ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr. in the Williams and Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari. Two red flags are observed; one for gravel on the track and one for Oliver Bearman in the Haas spinning and hitting the wall, destroying the front of his car. The second free practice session takes place on the same day, at 4:00 p.m. local time, and is topped by Leclerc ahead of Oscar Piastri in the McLaren and his teammate Norris. Due to his crash in the first practice, Bearman is not able to participate as the monocoque needs repairs, as well as changes being made to his gearbox and power unit.
"I know well how much fuel was in the car and what parameters the Ferrari ran with during the tests. You will be surprised by how fast they will go".
Lando Norris, on the eve of the Australian Grand Prix weekend, had warned the media, speaking about the car produced in Maranello, ready to impress in Melbourne. At the end of Friday's Free Practice sessions, an SF-25 is at the top of the time sheets, Charles Leclerc's car, which was the fastest in the second session. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri's McLarens were immediately behind Leclerc. After the session, Norris pointed out that there were two McLarens: one was very good with a full tank, and the other much more nervous with an empty tank.
"It was a good start to the weekend. We have a good base, but without a doubt, I’m not happy. I don’t have much confidence because we haven’t found the best balance yet, and we’re not consistent enough, especially with the car running low on fuel. With a high fuel load, the long run went well, but with less fuel, a bit like in Bahrain, we struggled".
Oscar Piastri doesn’t complain about the behavior of the McLaren, but emphasizes the level of competition without forgetting the weather uncertainty that could change things on Sunday:
"Me on the podium here at home? It’s hard to say, because the weather could be different on Sunday. The car seems to have great pace, but the Ferraris looked very fast, and even the Mercedes in some moments showed good speed".
In an environment like the one in Maranello, patience doesn’t exist: you must deliver 100% from the first lap. However, Formula 1, despite going over 300 km/h, operates at a slower pace than fans’ fantasies: even the most successful driver of all time needs time to adapt to a new context, and Lewis Hamilton is no exception. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur knows that these first official sessions will hardly give an accurate picture of the power balance between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. The French manager is not worried about the gap shown by the British driver in the first two Free Practice sessions and actually believes Lewis will soon find competitiveness with the SF-25.
"The goal is not to be on the limit in the first session, but to let him get to know all the team members and discover the workings. It’s just a learning process: we did one or two test days, but nothing compares to a race weekend. I’m not worried at all, and you can’t draw conclusions after the first session. I have absolutely no doubt that he will be able to find speed soon. Last year, I think Carlos Sainz Jr. was eighth or ninth in Free Practice, and then he won the race. When you join a new team, the sooner you can reach a high level and achieve results, the better. But inevitably, there is a transition period where you need to build the foundations, and that’s what we’ve done over the past two months. The first half of the season is based on these foundations, on building trust with all the team members. And trust isn’t earned immediately, but it’s built over time".
Within the paddock, Lewis Hamilton struggles to hide his smile and excitement for this new, courageous, and prestigious adventure that he chose to embark on at the age of 40, after already winning seven World Championships and 105 Formula 1 victories. Of course, the British driver is the most sought-after figure in these first official sessions of 2025, and it couldn’t have been otherwise.
"What would I be happy with by the end of 2025? I’d be content with first place. It will be difficult, but we are made to win, and we want to win. And then, if I manage to speak better Italian, I’ll be very satisfied".
The anticipation for his first race with Ferrari is palpable:
"It will be exciting, over the years, I’ve gone up and down looking at the red garage, and now I’m in the red garage. I told my family about Ferrari only after I signed. Having them all there at Fiorano was special".
Hamilton is clear about his goal:
"To help Ferrari win the Constructors' title. But it’s too early to say how it will go, the important thing is not to leave anything undone. I will always be grateful to Vasseur; without his push, I would never have spoken with John Elkann and Benedetto Vigna. Being in Ferrari is a life-changing experience".
However, the first race weekend as a Scuderia Ferrari driver for Lewis Hamilton has started a bit quietly. Those who expected immediate sensational times from the British driver were disappointed. This is also because Charles Leclerc showed himself to be immediately more competitive, but Hamilton doesn’t seem too concerned about the gaps, at least on the surface.
"First of all, I’m extremely excited, it was fantastic to finally be able to drive a Ferrari on track. The car was honestly totally different from the ones I had tested before on this track. So it took a little time to adapt during FP1. It went a bit better in FP2, but I’m still learning. I’m slowly building our pace to be able to go faster. How is it different? It’s different in general. It’s not bad, but it’s different. I need to adapt my driving style, piece by piece, but I really enjoy driving it".
Since it’s his first race in red, Lewis Hamilton knows he must take things slowly, with the aim of getting to know the car and the team better.
"For me, it’s a bit early to aim for pole position since I need to get to know the car, but never say never. I will give everything and not put too much pressure on myself, trying to have fun. I need to find a bit of rhythm, and I know where to find it. It’s just about going out on track and doing it".
Talking in detail about the difficulties faced during Free Practice, the British driver says:
"I’m still getting used to the setup changes. I don’t have everything under control yet, like when I was at Mercedes, where I knew exactly every possible modification. I’m still trying to understand which tools I can use. Charles knows these things because he’s been here for a long time, and I’m slowly putting all the pieces of the puzzle together".
But Hamilton's prospects for the weekend seem good:
"We’ve been competitive on long runs, and even the McLaren seems quite fast".
Charles Leclerc finished the Free Practice sessions of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne in first place, with just over 0.1 seconds ahead of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri (although it’s worth noting that the McLaren drivers' tires had two more laps on them than those used by Charles Leclerc). The British driver complains about the behavior of his car when the fuel tank is low, whereas Charles Leclerc is generally satisfied with the performance of the SF-25 and is curious to discover the true potential of all the competitors. The Monegasque driver, however, doesn’t hide his ambition to aim for the best result in Qualifying.
"Today, the feeling with the car was good, and we had a solid first day on track. There is still room for improvement in terms of car balance, which is something common to everyone in the paddock, since these cars are still quite new for all of us, and we need to push to understand their limits. It's too early to draw conclusions: we’ll have a clearer idea of each team’s pace only tomorrow in qualifying. Overall, it was a good Friday to start, and we’re looking forward to tomorrow, when we’ll be aiming for pole position".
This will be an important year for Charles Leclerc, who will have a champion like Lewis Hamilton by his side, with whom he hopes to bring the Maranello team back to the top.
"I feel like the best version of myself; every time, something new is added. Last year, I found consistency, and we didn’t waste any points or opportunities. Instinct is my strength in a sport where we try to predict everything, but sometimes it’s also been my limit. I’ve worked hard on it".
Regarding his relationship with Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc explains:
"I promise we’ll do everything we can to bring the drivers’ championship back. But whatever happens in the first GP, we must stay calm, as 2024 showed. With Lewis, I’m looking forward to going head-to-head on track in the same conditions. I dream of bringing red back to the top. It’s an obsession".
The Monegasque driver has taken the attention towards his teammate with a philosophical approach:
"He comes from a legendary career, and I fully understand the external anticipation. But within the team, everything is normal, and Ferrari is bigger than any driver".
Finally, he speaks about Frederic Vasseur's recommendations:
"Having met Lewis, I have no doubt that the relationship will remain excellent; he knows how to separate what happens on track from the relationship off track. Vasseur has reminded us that we must be careful with the two red cars, and apart from that, we can do whatever we want".
The start of the season could have been worse, perhaps with accidents or technical problems limiting the number of laps and kilometers on track. However, the positive aspects of Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen’s Friday end here: the RB21 appeared nervous, just as it did during the Bahrain tests. Despite technical modifications and setup experiments, it doesn’t seem the Milton Keynes team engineers are managing to understand the issues. This riddle has immediate consequences on the pace shown on track: the World Champion ends FP2 of the Australian Grand Prix in seventh place, with a little over 0.6 seconds of gap from Charles Leclerc’s best time. With a sense of resignation regarding the expectations for the weekend, which may need to be revised further downward.
"To be honest, the balance wasn’t even that bad, and I didn’t have any particular issues. But for some reason, we couldn’t find grip on track, and I struggled to make all four tires work, especially in the first and third sectors. This means that, at the moment, we’re not in the fight".
It’s not an ideal situation, though Red Bull Racing has accustomed the public in recent seasons to dramatic changes of direction during the same weekend after a slightly off session. However, according to Max Verstappen, the chances of a comeback for qualifying and the race are reduced compared to the recent past:
"The problem is that we didn’t have particular issues with balance. So, I think it will be a bit difficult to solve. It’s still nothing I didn’t expect before arriving here, so I’m neither surprised nor pleased with the pace we showed. We need to ensure we find a bit more speed, but right now, we’re definitely lacking something to fight at the top".
Liam Lawson's adventure at Red Bull Racing hasn't been easy either. The New Zealand driver started his first season in Formula 1 by occupying lower positions in the time standings. This is only the first day, and it’s clear Lawson will need time to fully adapt to the new team and car. However, the first impression is that the RB21 has a performance gap that shouldn’t be underestimated compared to the current reference teams: McLaren and Ferrari. At the end of the sessions, Liam Lawson doesn’t hide, openly stating that there’s a lot of work to be done, and that, above all, the car he’s currently driving is not fast enough:
"Confidence in the car? I’m comfortable at times, but that’s because we’re too slow. Clearly, this is only the first day, and it’s a new track for me. There’s definitely work to do, and we expected that, but maybe not this much. Clearly, we’ll be working through the night to try to improve ahead of tomorrow. Why was the start more difficult than expected? We don’t know. If we had known, we’d be much further ahead. We were lacking grip, especially in the qualifying simulation. But we also tried the race simulation, and in that case, our pace was slow, so we’ll definitely need to work".
Like a student, Andrea Kimi Antonelli sat down to learn. No one could expect the Italian driver to be competitive from day one: however talented, Mercedes' new driver has to get used to a completely new context. His positions in the first two hours of Free Practice in Melbourne reflect a calm debut, placed in the lower half of the standings (P14 in FP1, P16 in FP2), but with the gap to George Russell halved throughout the day.
"It was quite a positive day. There’s a bit of work to do on the single-lap pace; we need to get the tires into the right window. But in general, it went well. I made a small mistake at the end, but overall, I think I’m growing in confidence lap by lap, and the long runs were quite positive. The C5 is a tire I’ve never used before, so I’m learning it. Especially the warming-up phase is quite tricky, but we have some good data for tomorrow. It’s a bit too early to say what we can achieve this weekend, as we don’t know what the others are doing. But today was a positive day, the car feels good, and we’ll see what we can do tomorrow".
While Andrea Kimi Antonelli continues his apprenticeship in Formula 1, George Russell was one of the protagonists of the first day of Free Practice in Melbourne. The Mercedes driver showed good race pace, but didn’t shine in the fast lap, finishing seventh and tenth in the two FP1 and FP2 time sheets. After the second session, he himself expresses some doubts about the performance of his W16, describing it as inconsistent.
"It was really an up-and-down day, because every time we put on the medium or hard tire, we were at the top of the timesheets, and every lap was good. Then we put on the softs and didn’t go much faster. We were quicker with the hard tires than with the softs, but it’s clear the car has a certain pace, and we just need to make the best use of the tires".
For Russell, understanding what’s going on with the car will be crucial to maximize the weekend’s result:
"We need to understand why this situation is happening and see what we can do overnight. If the session had stopped after using the hard or medium tire in FP1, I would’ve definitely said: We’re in the mix. But you don’t qualify with the hard or medium tire; you qualify with the soft. We don’t seem particularly competitive on that tire, but I’m sure we can find improvements overnight".
The third free practice session takes place on March 15, 2025, at 12:30 p.m. local time, and is topped by Piastri ahead of George Russell in the Mercedes and Max Verstappen in the Red Bull Racing. A red flag is observed, once again for Bearman. Early into the session, the rookie runs wide at turn 11 and spins his Haas into the gravel. He is unable to free himself and is left without a time. Liam Lawson, Verstappen's teammate, is unable to set a lap time due to hydraulic issues. Hours on from an eventful final practice, all attention switches to the first Qualifying of the 2025 season in Melbourne. Some question marks remain entering the session, with a key one being over how Bearman fares following his second big crash of the weekend in FP3, leaving the Haas driver with a lack of mileage during the weekend so far. There is also some uncertainty facing Lawson, who is sidelined in third practice owing to a power unit issue. As the lights go green for Q1 at 4:00 p.m. local time, it is the Haas pair of Ocon and Bearman who lead out a queue of cars from the pit lane - but there are soon further issues for Bearman, who reports a gearbox issue that forces him to return to the pits. As the first flying laps go on the board - the majority of the pack having bolted on the soft tyres – Norris goes fastest with his effort of 1'16"003, just over one-hundredth of a second clear of a racy-looking Verstappen, while Piastri is a further tenth back in third. Also catching the eye during the initial runs is Alonso, who slots his Aston Martin into fifth, while Lawson faces further trouble after heading into the gravel and triggering the yellow flags in the process. The New Zealander remains in the drop zone with a few minutes to go, along with Gasly, Hulkenberg, Ocon, and Bearman, the latter still in the pits following his earlier issues. Antonelli, meanwhile, is also at risk in P14, the Mercedes rookie having dipped a wheel in the gravel during his effort. In a bid to get himself out of danger, Lawson heads out for a final lap - before running onto the grass, leaving the Red Bull driver down in P18. Gasly hauls himself out of the elimination zone to go into the top 10, just behind teammate Doohan, while an increasingly at-risk Hamilton improves to sixth in his first Qualifying as a Ferrari driver.
There is no such luck for Hamilton’s Mercedes replacement Antonelli, who is pushed down to P16 following an improvement from fellow rookie Bortoleto, the Kick Sauber man just making it through into P15. The Silver Arrows later confirm that bib damage has caused a loss of performance for Antonelli’s final two laps. Meanwhile, Bortoleto’s teammate Hulkenberg exits in 17th, ahead of Lawson in 18th and the Haas duo of Ocon and Bearman in 19th and 20th respectively, marking the continuation of a tough weekend for the American outfit. It is a busy start to Q2, with Verstappen heading out first and setting the initial pace before being dislodged by home favourite Piastri and fellow McLaren driver Norris, all three sporting a set of fresh soft tyres. There is a wild moment for Alonso, the Aston Martin driver running over the kerbs and kicking up gravel in the process, resulting in a return to the pits without setting a lap. Also lacking a time is Doohan, the Alpine man having lost his effort due to exceeding track limits, while the other names at risk are Hadjar, Stroll, and Bortoleto. Hamilton, meanwhile, looks to be moving closer to teammate Leclerc, the seven-time World Champion slotting in just under one-tenth behind in sixth place - though both remain several tenths off Piastri’s effort. With both Scuderia drivers heading out for their last efforts on used rubber, would this decision cost them? Bortoleto makes an impressive save after nearly losing his Kick Sauber during his final run - but there is trouble for Hamilton, who brings out the yellow flags after spinning, meaning that several drivers will likely be compromised. While Norris goes quickest on a 1'15"415 - and Hamilton remains safe in P6 - Hadjar just misses out on Q3 in 11th place. There is a double Aston Martin exit for Alonso and Stroll in 12th and 13th respectively, and also exiting are rookies Doohan - who is forced to abandon his final lap owing to the yellow flags - and Bortoleto. After all of the preceding action, it is time for the top-10 shootout at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit. And the drama continues as the first laps go on the board, with Leclerc initially looking to have secured provisional pole before Verstappen - just eight-hundredths clear on a 1'15"671 - as well as Russell better the Ferrari man’s effort. Norris, meanwhile, has his time deleted due to exceeding track limits, leaving the Briton with it all to do in the final runs. While Piastri is fourth, Albon catches the eye in fifth for Williams from Tsunoda, Hamilton - who dips a wheel in the gravel during his lap - Gasly, Sainz, and Norris. A queue forms in the pit lane as the clock ticks down for the final minutes, with home favourite Piastri leading the way.
The Australian promptly delights his home crowd by beating Verstappen’s benchmark by a whopping four-tenths - but this effort is then beaten by Norris, the Briton setting a time of 1'15"096 to go just 0.084s quicker. While Russell looks to have taken third during the final runs, Verstappen improves again to reclaim the position, pushing the Mercedes driver down to fourth. Tsunoda, meanwhile, impresses by snatching fifth, continuing a solid weekend for Racing Bulls. Albon leads the charge for Williams in sixth, while it proves to be a tricky day for Ferrari as Leclerc and Hamilton wind up in seventh and eighth respectively. Gasly follows in ninth for Alpine, with Williams’ Sainz just behind in 10th place. Mission accomplished for Lando Norris. The first pole position of 2025 is his, with the extra satisfaction of having snatched it from his teammate Oscar Piastri in front of the Australian crowd. However, the points will be decided tomorrow, and there is also the uncertainty of the weather to contend with. For now, though, the vice-world champion can smile.
"I did well in the last sector? Actually, I struggled a lot in the final corners, I almost went off track. For some reason, this weekend I’ve been very strong at turn 11. It's actually quite a simple, 90-degree corner, but all weekend it’s probably been my best corner. I always had almost half a tenth or a tenth of an advantage over almost everyone. I don’t know why, but I feel comfortable there, and that’s where I gain a lot of time on the lap. I probably took pole in qualifying thanks to that corner today too. In the car, I felt good, not amazing, not perfect, but good, and the car's pace has been very strong throughout the weekend. In the end, it was a matter of not making mistakes, trying to find the limits as much as possible. Same performance in the rain? I hope so, but we have no idea. We don’t know how the car will perform in the rain".
In the end, the hunt for pole position in the Australian Grand Prix really turned into a derby between the McLarens. The MCL39 confirmed itself as the best car on the grid at the moment, and Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were able to challenge each other head-to-head for the first starting position, significantly distancing all their rivals, especially in the third and final sector. The gap between them at the end of Q3 was just 84 thousandths of a second, in favor of the British driver. Piastri certainly dreamed of giving his home crowd a special pole position, but once he got out of his car, the local hero showed no regret.
"Did I miss something in Q3? Not much, I think. The first lap of Q3 was a bit messy, but I think that was the case for everyone. The last lap, however, I’m quite satisfied with: I don’t think I left too much on the table. I can’t be too hard on myself for big mistakes. I’m pretty satisfied with the work I did and, of course, with McLaren. I’m happy enough".
There couldn’t have been a better start to the season for McLaren and team principal Andrea Stella. The Woking-based team, already considered a favorite after the Bahrain test days, confirmed expectations by showing good pace in free practice and, above all, securing a brilliant front row finish at the end of the Australian Grand Prix qualifying. In Melbourne, on a very different track and under conditions different from those seen in Sakhir, the MCL39 remained the car to beat, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri able to deliver significant gaps in Q3 to all their rivals. The Italian engineer now sees his hopes nurtured over the winter materialize on track, when he said his goal was to make Formula 1 a little bit more boring. He was obviously referring to the possibility of dominating sessions with large gaps to rivals, thus reducing the uncertainty that characterized last season.
"Yes, it’s definitely a perfect way to start the season. It’s almost surprising, in some ways, that the car showed such consistent strength on a circuit we didn’t think would be one of our favorites of the season".
A statement of intent that could be quite intimidating, especially when the tracks that Woking's engineers consider favorable to the MCL39 arrive.
"I take the opportunity to thank the entire team because every man and woman worked extremely hard over the winter to improve a car that was already quite competitive, one that was already a world champion car. We know we can’t rest on our laurels because Formula 1 is living through one of the most competitive situations we’ve ever seen, with many cars capable of fighting for the win. So, a huge thank you to the team in the factory and to the entire McLaren team that has stayed united and has been great at maximizing this potential".
The Australian Grand Prix qualifying didn’t reserve many surprises for the front row, which will be entirely occupied by the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. From various sources, the British team was considered the favorite after the Bahrain tests, and these predictions have materialized already in Melbourne. What was undoubtedly disappointing was Ferrari, who dramatically missed Q3 and ended up with the fourth row of the grid, with Charles Leclerc in seventh and Lewis Hamilton in eighth. Certainly, the Maranello cars will have a chance to make up places in the race, especially if rain predictions come true, but such a low-profile start was hardly predictable. In the press conference, Lando Norris responds to a specific question about Ferrari’s qualifying:
"I expected more from them. They were as fast as us all weekend and we definitely expected to fight with Ferrari; we expected more. Putting the lap together is always difficult, in a tenth, there are three or four positions. I expected them to be faster, but they were all weekend, except in qualifying".
Oscar Piastri gave a similar response:
"Ahead of qualifying, we identified Ferrari as our most dangerous rival. I was pleasantly surprised by our pace in qualifying, and maybe that surprised other teams, Ferrari in particular. But it’s only the first qualifying of the season, and I think the situation will change a lot in the next races. I expect Ferrari to be fast and competitive all year".
Charles Leclerc won the internal battle with Lewis Hamilton but can hardly be happy with his seventh-place starting position. From the comments of the Monegasque driver, some bitterness emerges, but also clear ideas on the reasons for the SF-25’s lack of pace. Leclerc himself seems to suggest that the Maranello team made a setup choice heavily focused on the race, sacrificing qualifying more than other teams. Another interpretation is that the team raised the car to avoid excessive floor wear.
"The performance in general hasn’t been the same as yesterday, since this morning. I think I know where it’s coming from, but we need to analyze the data. We had to lose some performance, which is never the desired outcome, but it was the right thing to do for this weekend. I won’t go into more detail. The fourth row is certainly disappointing, even in the worst-case scenario, I didn’t expect this. As I said before the weekend, though, it’s just a starting point: now we have to work, we shouldn’t try to perform miracles tomorrow, we need to take the points, and little by little, we’ll get back to the front. The season will be long: I’m sure this car has potential, it’s just that today we were out of the window, and it showed".
We are only at the first qualifying of the season, but Lewis Hamilton’s first Saturday as a Ferrari driver is certainly not one to remember. The English driver, who also suffered a spin without consequences in the final stages of Q2, placed his SF-25 in eighth position.
Just behind Charles Leclerc's car, but far from the top of the grid. However, Lewis Hamilton tries to analyze today’s performance with clarity, saying he is happy to have closed the gap to Charles Leclerc’s performance but also showing awareness that the overall result of the day was far from expectations:
"I’m happy with the progress we’ve made throughout the weekend, because day after day, we’ve optimized the car and brought it to a better position. I was quite far off in several areas because the car behaves very differently compared to the Mercedes I’ve driven for so many years, so it took a while to get used to it and start trusting the car. I think I got quite close to Charles in the end, and that’s a positive. We’re a little further off than expected, and we need to understand why. Did track evolution cause problems? In Q3, actually. I had used tires because I’d already used the new ones earlier, and my used tire was quite good until the last corner. Then with the new tires, it was going well, but at some point, the wind direction and temperature changed, and the balance changed completely, like from day to night. That surprised us a bit, but I think it was quite similar for everyone. We definitely have room for improvement".
The verdict for Scuderia Ferrari is harsh, with almost a 0.7-second gap. However, Team Principal Frederic Vasseur emphasizes that this disappointing qualifying should not define a World Championship that still has its first points to be assigned.
"In Q1 and Q2, we were close to McLaren, our times weren’t magical, but we were fighting. Then we lost pace in Q3, and that’s a shame, but the season is not over, it's just one qualifying. There aren't seven-tenths between us and McLaren, but more like one or three-tenths, as it was in all sessions except Q3, where we lacked something and didn't complete the final lap. The picture is too harsh for us, even though it's true that in the third sector, the gap opened up between us, McLaren, and Verstappen. Do I hope for rain tomorrow? When you start seventh and eighth, you hope for a chaotic race, and rain could help, but I'm confident we can recover even in the dry. In Friday's long run, we were competitive".
Once again, it was abundantly clear that Max Verstappen is Red Bull Racing. The difference with any teammate is too great, and the talent of the Dutch champion is enormous, capable of bringing a car far from perfect to third place at the end of qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. The McLarens are still distant, but the four-time World Champion is satisfied with the progress made:
"Honestly, I’m pretty surprised to be here after yesterday. I felt confident and comfortable with the car, but it's clear that we’re still missing some rhythm. Overall, I’m happy with the laps I did in qualifying. I tried to extract the maximum".
Verstappen doesn’t elaborate on the details of the changes made to the RB21:
"We worked on the car, trying to fine-tune the balance and other things, and the car came to life. Overall, it was pretty easy to drive, but too slow. Today it was faster, but still not enough".
Expanding the analysis to the rivals, he explains:
"Being still ahead of Ferrari and Mercedes is positive for us. I’m not expecting miracles. I don’t think we are on the same level as McLaren, but I’ll do my best, and we’ll see what happens tomorrow".
Liam Lawson, the heir to Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing, started by negatively emulating his predecessor. The New Zealand driver was eliminated in Q1 of the Australian Grand Prix qualifying. There are mitigating factors for Lawson, as the driver missed all of the third free practice session due to technical issues, and the lack of mileage on the soft tires took its toll in Q1. In his first attempt, Lawson went into the gravel at Turn 4, in the second attempt, he had a noticeable slide during the fast direction change after the second sector timing beam. Finally, in his attempt to recover, he ran off into the grass at the penultimate corner and ended up directly in the pit lane.
"I missed running with the softs because we lost the entire third practice session, and it showed in Q1. I’ll try to recover tomorrow".
With his well-known personal issues now firmly behind him, Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner focuses on track activity and greets the spectacular return to the fight at the top after a forgettable Friday. The very real possibility that the Australian Grand Prix could be affected by rain opens up scenarios that seemed unimaginable just a few hours ago.
"It’s a pretty good result, but I must say, honestly, that it’s exactly what we expected after Bahrain. I mean, it’s what we saw in testing. Of course, I congratulate McLaren for putting both drivers in a position to do that last fast lap. But I believe we have a solid platform to start working from for the rest of the season. Sure, we’re not yet in an optimal condition with our car. For example, all laps are quite identical until Turn 11, but then we lose a bit of ground in the last corners. So, I think there’s still work to do, but overall I’m happy with what the team has done. Yesterday, the drivers weren’t happy with the balance, but today we improved the car a lot".
He also commented on the performance of the entire Red Bull Racing family drivers, with Verstappen being exceptional, the very satisfying results of the Racing Bulls' young drivers, and the unfortunate first qualifying for Lawson with the Milton Keynes team:
"Liam was unlucky to miss FP3 because it’s a track where he had very little experience, and that’s why he ended up at the back. Max, on the other hand, delivered a very, very solid performance. I’m also happy for Yuki Tsunoda, who did a great job, as well as for Isack Hadjar. It’s great to see these young guys going fast. Of course, the race is tomorrow, and it promises to be interesting. If the weather is as forecasted, all these discussions might become a bit irrelevant".
Andrea Kimi Antonelli will start from 16th position in his first Formula 1 Grand Prix. In the Australian Grand Prix qualifying, the Mercedes driver was eliminated in Q1 by Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, also a debutant. Antonelli damaged the floor of his Mercedes after slightly going into the gravel at Turn 6. Mercedes quantified the performance loss at least 0.3 seconds just in the final straight due to the damage sustained by the car.
"Let’s say we talked about it yesterday in the briefing that in Turn 6, there’s a lot of gravel, and maybe it went wrong for me because when I went over it, the floor got crushed, it actually detached, and scraped on the ground, so I lost a lot in the straight, and I lost a lot of downforce, and unfortunately, that’s how it went. I probably should have started Q1 with the soft tire immediately; honestly, even with the medium, it took one more lap. We changed the strategy on the fly, but what compromised the qualifying was what happened on the lap with the soft tire”.
Mercedes was aware that they would have to wait for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, given his young age and limited experience. The fourth position of George Russell, on the other hand, confirms the pre-race thinking, which is that Mercedes' performance is in line with Red Bull Racing and Ferrari but behind McLaren. After qualifying, George Russell explains to the journalists:
"It went more or less as we expected, McLaren ahead of everyone with a good gap. Behind, I have the impression that it will be a battle between us, Red Bull, and Ferrari. There were surprises in qualifying like Tsunoda, Hadjar, or Williams, but the race pace looks different. Red Bull started 2024 way ahead of everyone, and I don’t think anyone has surpassed them in terms of development. Let me explain: they brought some updates, and then they went back".
George Russell believes that unless there are bad updates, a team that far ahead is difficult to catch up with. And in fact:
"When you have a six-tenth advantage at the beginning of the year, no one can find six-tenths over the course of the year, so McLaren is in a privileged position both for the present and the future".
The Mercedes driver then hints that McLaren has found something different from its rivals in tire management:
"Just look at how strong they were in Singapore and how weak they were in Las Vegas and how strong they were on the pace in Bahrain testing: it’s all about tires. If you’re strong in the third sector in Australia, it’s just about tires. And in this, they’re doing something special, that’s for sure".
On Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Melbourne, the track is wet due to a heavy downpour that hit the circuit in the previous hours, causing the cancellation of the Formula 2 Feature Race. For this reason, all drivers decide to start on intermediate tires. During the formation lap, Isack Hadjar spins at the exit of Turn 2 and crashes into the barriers. His car remains stationary on the track, forcing the race director to abort the start in order to remove it. The race start is delayed by 15 minutes, and the race distance is reduced from 58 to 57 laps. At the start, Lando Norris retains the lead, while Max Verstappen overtakes Oscar Piastri and takes second place. George Russell remains fourth. Charles Leclerc manages to overtake Alexander Albon and Yūki Tsunoda in the first few corners, moving into fifth place, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton remains in eighth. However, halfway through the first lap, Jack Doohan loses control of his Alpine and hits the barriers, forcing the race director to deploy the safety car to remove the Australian’s crashed car. Also, during the first lap, with the race under the safety car, Carlos Sainz Jr. goes off-track at the final corner and ends his race by crashing into the barriers. For this reason, the race director decides to have the cars pass through the pit lane. The race resumes on lap 8, with all drivers maintaining their positions. In the following laps, the track conditions improve, and the race director authorizes the use of DRS.
On lap 15, Andrea Kimi Antonelli overtakes Nico Hülkenberg and gains the 12th position, but in the next lap, the Italian spins at Turn 4 but is able to restart and rejoin the track behind the Sauber driver. On lap 17, Verstappen runs wide at Turn 11, allowing Piastri to take second place, while Antonelli overtakes Hülkenberg again. Meanwhile, Hamilton repeatedly tries to overtake Albon but is unable to complete the move. As the laps go by, the McLaren duo in the lead pulls away from Verstappen, eventually establishing a maximum lead of 16 seconds. During lap 34, Fernando Alonso spins at the exit of Turn 7, causing a new deployment of the safety car. All drivers take the opportunity to switch to dry tires. The race resumes on lap 42 with unchanged positions. However, after a few laps, rain begins to dampen the track again, and both McLarens go off-track simultaneously at Turn 12, with Norris managing to re-enter and head straight to the pit lane to switch to intermediate tires. Meanwhile, Piastri goes off-track at the next corner and gets stuck for several seconds in the grass of the escape road but eventually manages to get going and return to the pits for wet tires. Russell, Albon, Antonelli, Stroll, and the two Saubers also pit for wet tires, while the two Red Bulls and the two Ferraris stay out on dry tires, with Verstappen leading the race. However, the track is too wet, and Verstappen is forced to pit on lap 46, handing the lead back to Norris, while the two Ferraris remain on dry tires.
At the start of the next lap, Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto go off-track, prompting another safety car intervention. Hamilton and Leclerc pit under the safety car for intermediates and rejoin in 9th and 10th place, respectively. The race restarts on lap 52, with Norris leading Verstappen, Russell, Albon, Antonelli, Stroll, Hülkenberg, Gasly, and Leclerc, who immediately passes Hamilton. Shortly after, both Ferraris pass Gasly, while Piastri, who restarted in 13th, begins to recover in an attempt to get back into the points. Antonelli overtakes Albon and moves into 4th place but is penalized 5 seconds for an unsafe release during a pit stop. The penalty is later revoked after the race. On the final lap, Piastri overtakes Hamilton and finishes in 9th place, ahead of the Briton. In the closing laps, Verstappen tries to pressure Norris, but the McLaren driver holds onto the lead. Lando Norris wins his fifth career Grand Prix. For McLaren, it is their 190th victory in history, their 12th in the Australian Grand Prix, and their first since the 2012 edition with Jenson Button. With much more struggle than anticipated, Lando Norris lived up to expectations by winning the Australian Grand Prix and taking the lead in the Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship for the first time in his career. The British driver managed every type of difficulty and opponent, from Max Verstappen to Oscar Piastri, navigating the rain that repeatedly made the Albert Park circuit incredibly slippery. A mistake two-thirds into the race with slick tires on a damp track almost opened the door to past ghosts, especially since the off-track excursion caused the car to suffer a hit, losing aerodynamic downforce. However, Norris, unlike his teammate (who also went off track at the same point), limited the damage and brought home a very important victory.
"In the last laps, after that off-track excursion, Lando had a damaged car, so he struggled a bit to find speed: I think this justifies the pressure Max put on him towards the end. Overall, it was a race with many different scenarios and challenges. We controlled it well, to be honest, until the rain arrived unexpectedly. Unfortunately, this meant Oscar lost touch with the front of the race".
The negative record of Australian drivers, historically never on the podium in the Australian Grand Prix, remained unbroken. This time not because of absolute performance, but due to a mistake that shocked the crowd in Melbourne, who had for long parts of the race dreamed not just of a top-3 finish, but even of Oscar Piastri's victory. The young McLaren driver, however, betrayed himself, spinning out at turn 13 after the rain surprised him while he was on slick tires.
"Obviously, it’s a very disappointing result, but I feel like, except for one lap, I drove incredibly well throughout the race. It's a shame I don't have a good finish to show that, but I can only blame myself for that. Sure, I was probably a bit unlucky being stuck that way before getting going again, but I was the one who spun out at that point. And I can only feel sorry about it".
The reference is obviously to the mistake that ruined what seemed like a day that could end in the best way, with a McLaren 1-2:
"The positive thing is the way I drove in the other 56 laps of the race. I was very strong in all conditions, and that’s what I need to take away from this weekend. I think, as a team, we made the right decisions in terms of strategy, and this showed with Lando but also in my race, which was compromised by the fact that it took me a minute to engage reverse gear and get going again. I’m proud of the work done this weekend, and the only shame is not having a better result".
After making a great pass on Lewis Hamilton in the last lap of the race, Oscar Piastri ends his statement saying:
"Disappointed considering how fast the McLaren was? No, not necessarily. In fact, I think it would have hurt me more if I had known I had a slow car. Instead, there was the possibility to do better than ninth. So the only disappointment is the result".
After over a thousand days, Max Verstappen is no longer the leader of the Formula 1 World Championship. It had been since before the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix that there was a different name at the top of the standings. Back then it was Charles Leclerc, now it’s Lando Norris. The British driver was the well-deserved winner of a crazy Australian Grand Prix. Crazy for everyone, but not for him, as he didn’t falter under the pressure from Oscar Piastri or, in the final laps, from Max Verstappen himself. A great show of strength for a driver who did have the best car on the grid, but who had previously struggled mentally in the challenge with his friend-rival. This time, however, his nerves held.
"No mistakes in the race? Actually, I made a couple of mistakes, but they were acceptable given how difficult the conditions were. You can see how many mistakes the others made, crashing and ending their races early. People from the outside probably don’t realize how tough a race like that is, especially when you’re racing at the front. When you have a bit of margin, you can relax, find a good rhythm, but the last three laps, with Max behind me, were stressful, because the track was drying, and as soon as you moved a meter, you paid the price, and it could all be over. So, in many races like today’s, you’re playing with fire: you push to the max, have huge slides, and risk going off track many times. But that’s the level you need to reach to try to win a race against drivers like Oscar and Max. It was tough, stressful, but we made the right decisions at the right time. That’s what helped me win today: I had a good rhythm and a good drive, but the strategy was also crucial, so I have to thank the team for that".
When it comes to learning from past mistakes, that’s something that can’t be said about Scuderia Ferrari. Frederic Vasseur had said that a crazy race could help Ferrari in Australia.
"When you start in seventh and eighth position, you obviously hope for a chaotic race, and with the rain, it could be like that".
The Grand Prix at Albert Park did indeed feature retirements, mistakes, two Safety Car periods, and intermittent rain that really changed the course of the race, to the point that McLaren, the clear performance leader, ended up paying for a major mistake by Oscar Piastri, who dropped to the back of the pack after being stuck in the wet grass for a long time. The Australian driver recovered to ninth place, between the cars of Charles Leclerc, who finished in P8, and Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari's cars lacked pace, and during the switch to dry tires, the team opted for the Hard compound, while the Medium proved to be more effective, with Yuki Tsunoda passing Charles Leclerc, who then spun. The chaos caused by the weather gave Ferrari the chance to snatch at least a podium, but all the decisions from the pit wall turned out to be wrong, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc forced to finish almost at the back of the pack after their pit stops under the Safety Car. Ferrari's team principal, Frederic Vasseur, comments on a bitter Sunday:
"We should have stopped a lap earlier like Verstappen did, but it’s easy to say that in hindsight. The race strategy wasn’t the right one, but now it’s better to focus on the next race, the season is long. I don’t know if we got everything wrong today, but we’ll start again from the pace shown in Friday’s race simulation. McLaren is ahead, but behind, we are all close, and we had the pace of the Mercedes".
It’s a Sunday to forget for Scuderia Ferrari, which leaves Melbourne perhaps with even more questions than those that had emerged after the three days of testing in Bahrain: beyond the result, there are internal procedures and strategic mistakes made during the race to discuss, but also and especially the performance of an SF-25, which, whether in the dry or wet, was never competitive.
"It was definitely a tough race, and there will definitely be things we need to look at and improve. It always seems easier from the outside than it really is, and every situation has its specifics. But it’s a fact that we always struggle a bit more every time there are these conditions. We know this, we’re aware of it, and we’re focusing on solving this compared to many other areas".
The Monegasque driver also has some self-criticism, as he takes much of the responsibility for the final result:
"Today’s eighth place isn’t enough. But before talking about the team’s choices, I think the biggest mistake where we lost many positions was mine when I lost the car exiting turn 11 and spun. I lost four or five positions there, and without those, today I would have been in fourth or third place. We would be looking at the race in a different way now".
The good news is that we get back on track right away, with the Chinese Grand Prix taking place already in the following weekend:
"I have nothing more to add, we’ll have to work. Surely, for the first race, I expected much better, and I’m disappointed, but we’ll be back in the car in four days, and I hope there will be a chance to make up for it there. It's definitely important to react, and we’re lucky to have a race right after. Shanghai is a real track, but unfortunately, last year we also struggled a lot there. We need to do better, and we will work to improve from this starting point".
P10 in his first Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver certainly cannot satisfy Lewis Hamilton, who experienced a very difficult Sunday in Australia. The seven-time World Champion, during the more frantic phases of the race, even had some radio messages expressing frustration with how his engineers were handling strategies, but then in the usual post-race interviews, he tried to analyze the situation calmly. According to Hamilton, one of the issues was adapting to the new car, especially in such particular conditions like the ones drivers faced in Melbourne.
"It was one of the toughest days. Being in those conditions for the first time in the rain, with this car and power unit, managing all the steering wheel functions and new communications with the engineers, was a huge challenge. It's a shame because I hoped for more today. I hung in there as long as I could. At one point, we were in a position to fight for the podium by staying out, but then more rain came, and the situation worsened. Worse performance than expected? No, we didn’t get the car in the window, but I don’t think the car is as far off as it was today. Even in qualifying, I don’t think we managed to extract the car’s performance".
Mercedes' World Championship begins positively with a spectacular and dramatic Australian Grand Prix, with both drivers from the Brackley team finishing in the top 5. For George Russell, who finished on the podium in third, the standing ovation mainly goes to Andrea Kimi Antonelli, in his Formula 1 debut. The Italian driver managed his recovery to finish fourth (later revised to fifth) impressively. A performance that impressed his teammate George Russell, who praised the young Italian driver after the race:
"Actually, he finished fourth and it was really fantastic. Yesterday, he was unlucky. Today, we saw how many struggled, especially the rookies, while he didn’t make any mistakes. No doubt about it: he’ll keep me on my toes this year, but I’m excited for that. We’re mostly looking at the Constructors' Championship. We’ll both be up there, and that’s extremely positive. Today was a good day".
From P16 to P4, later changed to P5 in the official results due to a 5-second penalty for an unsafe release. Andrea Kimi Antonelli couldn’t have had a better first Formula 1 weekend. After struggling in free practice and qualifying, paying the price for his rookie status, he made a fantastic comeback, managing many different and chaotic race phases brilliantly. Interviewed after the race, the Italian driver expressed his satisfaction:
"I’m really happy. It's a shame about the penalty because it would have been P4, and that’s a result I didn’t expect from that position, but I knew with the rain today anything could happen. I’m really happy with how the race went. The team did a great job guiding me extraordinarily in all conditions, and we practically experienced all possible conditions today. I’m happy with how we handled everything, and I can’t wait to go to China".
There’s definitely satisfaction within Mercedes for the result of this first Grand Prix of the year. In Melbourne, contrary to the pre-race predictions placing them behind Ferrari, the Brackley team took third with George Russell and fifth with debutant Andrea Kimi Antonelli. After the first round of the 2025 World Championship, Mercedes is second in the Constructors’ Championship, just 2 points behind McLaren, which won with Lando Norris but was hurt by Oscar Piastri’s P9, who had been in second when the rain hit and he spun off track.
At the end of the Grand Prix, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was very clear in stating that the two British cars are currently unreachable by the rest of the competition.
"They were in a championship of their own, it’s impressive to watch from a fan’s perspective. When they decide to go, they go. And we have to use every tool we have. They have a wide window where they can push, push, push".
The result of the Australian Grand Prix was under review for a few minutes. Mercedes exercised its Right of Review, requesting the revision of the penalty Andrea Kimi Antonelli received at the end of the race. The Italian driver had initially been demoted to P5 in favor of Alex Albon after receiving a 5-second penalty from the stewards for an unsafe release in the pits. However, the Brackley team quickly appealed and got the penalty overturned. Antonelli was reinstated to P4. The FIA accepted new and relevant evidence in defense of the Italian driver. According to new footage from the Mercedes #12 onboard cameras (not available when the penalty was issued), Antonelli had not cut across Nico Hulkenberg’s path in the pit lane. The official FIA statement reads:
"There are new, significant, and relevant elements. Mercedes has provided a video from the onboard camera that was previously unavailable. These images were downloaded from the car after the race. After reviewing the new video, as well as additional footage previously unavailable to the stewards, including one filmed by a helicopter, the FIA decided to revoke the previous decision. The penalty imposed on car #12 is removed, and no further action is necessary. It is clear that Antonelli did not enter the fast lane (the leftmost lane of the pit lane in Melbourne) until after traveling a significant distance. He did so after checking his mirror to assess the safe distance to Hulkenberg's car. The camera also shows there was enough space to safely pass the McLaren’s pit box without risking the mechanics".
It’s a second-place finish that feels like a victory, especially considering the difficulties Red Bull Racing faced during testing in Bahrain and in Friday’s free practice of the Australian Grand Prix. The protagonist, after all, is still Max Verstappen, who should never be written off and always manages to fight at the top of Formula 1. Even when rain turns everything upside down, rewarding those few lucky drivers like him, who have that magical touch with their foot to control 1000-horsepower machines on slippery asphalt.
"The start was fun. After that, I tried to stay with the McLarens, but then, like almost every other team, we started struggling too much with tire degradation, and we overheated the tires. So the McLarens pulled away. I gave my best, but obviously, at some point, Norris and Piastri flew away. I tried to focus on my race until the weather brought us back into play. When it started raining again, it was really hard to use the slick tires, but we tried something different. It was almost working, maybe, but obviously, not being able to see the radar, I didn’t know how the weather was changing".
There’s no regret, however, for the decision to stay out for another lap on slicks despite the rain:
"Even if we had pit with Norris, it wouldn’t have changed anything. I would have still finished second, so it didn’t really matter. It was fun though to try something different".
What matters most to the four-time World Champion is the overall picture of the title fight, so at the end of the race, he said he was happy to have gained 18 more points than last year, recalling his retirement in Melbourne almost 12 months ago. And it doesn’t really matter that this reference is a bit off since, in fact, Verstappen had 25 points in the standings after the first Grand Prix of 2024, thanks to his victory in Bahrain.
"The McLarens? Yes, the gap is wide, we know that, and I don’t think it will disappear before the next race. But we have to try to stay close because, on days like today, normally you can’t do better than third. Today, however, we’re second, so that’s fine".