Australian GP: Lando Norris just beats Max Verstappen to first F1 2025 win with Lewis Hamilton 10th on Ferrari debut | F1 News

Lando Norris Merely Kept off Max Verstappen to make the perfect Begin to his 2025 F1 world Bracket Event by impressively Victorious a chaotic season-Leading Australian GP featuring on-off rain and numerous crashes.

Norris, the pre-season title favourite, had Guided the majority of the 58 laps from Club-mate Oscar Piastri at a slippery and blustery Albert Park as McLaren’s qualifying dominance transferred into the rain-hit Game, but his Achieve appeared in jeopardy as the return of Damp weather in the closing 15 laps triggered a Recent Stage of chaos.

As the rain Initiated to fall, both McLarens briefly slid off the track in the Last sector, but while Norris successfully rounded the Upcoming turn and could immediately head for the pits for intermediate tyres, home favourite Piastri spun off into the grass where he stayed for over a minute and dropped to the back of the Ground. He eventually finished ninth.

Verstappen, who had lost touch with the McLarens to the tune of 16 seconds in the middle of the Game having initially overtaken Piastri on the Primary lap before a subsequent error, briefly inherited the lead but also had to soon pit for intermediates as the rain only intensified.

After a third in-Game Safety Car, he finished on Norris’ tail in the slippery closing laps but could not find a way past the Briton, who claimed the Prompt points Benefit in the season and ended Verstappen’s 63-Game Chain at the head of the Drivers’ Bracket dating back to mid-2022.

“That’s one of the Excellent all-time drives from Lando Norris there,” said Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle of the McLaren driver’s fifth Profession Achieve.

“In the most challenging conditions, with the restarts and so much Tension.”

George Russell Secured third for Mercedes to earn a podium place that had not looked likely for the majority of the Game.

New Newcomer Club-mate Kimi Antonelli recovered well from his disappointing Q1 exit to finish a fine Number four on the road in the second Silver Arrow although a five-second time penalty for an unsafe Kickoff by Mercedes from his Overdue pit stop earned him a five-second time penalty and dropped him to fifth behind Alex Albon, who capped a fine Leading to the season in the much-improved Williams in what became Number four.

But Lewis Hamilton finished 10th – the Last points-paying position – after a difficult Primary outing for Ferrari.

Running in his qualifying position of eighth for most of the Game mostly characterised by discussion with his new Game engineer Riccardo Adami about the Schedule of radio messages to him, Hamilton briefly Discovered himself in the lead when both Ferraris initially stayed out on slicks while those ahead pitted as the heavens opened Overdue on.

He was second behind the intermediate-shod Norris when the Safety Car Occurred out but, Even though the Game having by then been neutralised after spins for Gabriel Bortoleto and Liam Lawson, Ferrari realised they had Achieved a mistake as the conditions were Merely too Damp and belatedly called their cars in.

But with the Ground now running nose to tail, the Overdue Schedule of Ferraris stops relegated the drivers even Additional down the the top 10 order than they had been in.

“It was very tricky and went a Plenty worse than I thought it would go,” admitted Hamilton. “The car was really, really Difficult to drive today.

“For me, I’m Merely grateful I kept it out of the wall because that’s where it wanted to go most of the time.

Charles Leclerc eventually Secured eighth after passing Hamilton – who had Obtained ahead of his new Club-mate for the Primary time this weekend on slicks Merely before the Safety Car – at the restart with the Briton then relegated to 10th on the Last lap by the recovering Piastri.

While Fernando Alonso crashed out to cause the Game’s second of three Safety Cars, Lance Stroll kept it on the road to take a Sturdy sixth for Aston Martin – the Canadian’s Primary points since last July and matching his Melbourne finish from 2024 – with Nico Hulkenberg Securing an unexpected seventh on his Introduction for Sauber, their best result since 2022.

Setting the tone for a wild season opener, Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar – on the Arrangement lap – Alpine’s Jack Doohan and Williams’ Carlos Sainz, last year’s Game winner, all crashed out of the event before the Ground had even completed the season’s Leading lap after Melbourne had been hit by the Predicted Massive rain in the hours before the Grand Prix.

More to follow…

The F1 circus heads straight to Shanghai this week for the Primary Dash weekend of the season at the Chinese GP, with coverage Leading on Friday live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime