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Norris holds off Verstappen, McLaren misses out on a double in Australia

In a race full of twists and turns, Lando Norris emerged victorious ahead of Max Verstappen. Oscar Piastri lost everything.

Published 16/03/2025 à 07:01

Gonzalo Forbes

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Norris holds off Verstappen, McLaren misses out on a double in Australia

© Florent Gooden / DPPI

(Update : Andrea Kimi Antonelli's penalty was cancelled, which means he finished 4th in the Australian GP, ​​ahead of Alexander albon)

And the first winner of the 2025 season is… Lando Norris ! Almost a given given the Englishman's form since the start of the Australian Grand Prix weekend, but it wasn't exactly a walk in the park for him, who faced all the elements. 

Yet the 2024 runner-up seemed well on his way to a relatively calm Sunday. He got off to a solid start, even if he had to keep an eye on Max Verstappen Behind him, Lando Norris came out of the first corner without incident to lead the pack under the grey Melbourne sky. 

Interspersed between the two McLarenMax Verstappen was willing to play spoilsport, but the Dutchman mostly resisted without managing to put pressure on the Briton in front of him. Powerless, the four-time world champion opened the way for McLaren to score a one-two when he missed out on lap 17, allowing Oscar piastri to recover his 2nd place. 

The die was cast, and Woking appeared to be heading straight for a 1-2 finish in this opening round. But the return of rain on lap 44 reshuffled the deck. Lando Norris had a big scare at Turn 12, like Verstappen earlier, and the same for Oscar Piastri, but with less luck, as he remained stuck in the grass at Turn 13 for a long time, losing everything, while his teammate returned to the pit lane to put on the intermediates.

This handed the lead to Max Verstappen, who preferred to stay on track with slicks. However, the driver Red Bull decided to dive into the pit lane to avoid the worst, which allowed Lando Norris, who thought he had lost everything, to regain his position a good ten laps from the checkered flag.

The Australian Grand Prix was restarted on lap 52 for a final sprint of 6 laps that lived up to all expectations. Just when he thought he had done the hardest part, Norris saw Verstappen return to the DRS zone on the penultimate lap. Luckily, the Englishman was strong enough to resist the Dutchman, who was too far back to attempt an attack, and thus secure his first victory of the season, the 5th of his career. George Russell completed the podium ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who made a strong comeback from 16th place on the grid in his first race, and Alexander Albon. The Italian, initially penalized five seconds for a " unsafe release » in the pits, saw his penalty removed after the race.

Having fallen second to last, Oscar Piastri took Lewis Hamilton's scalp on the last lap to get between the Ferrari in 9rd position. Charles Leclerc and the Englishman lost everything when the rain started, choosing to stay on track before changing their minds.

Hadjar in the wall, Australia did a lot of damage

For Isack Hadjar, this Grand Prix never really got off to a good start. The French driver accidentally crashed into the second corner during the formation lap. With his car badly damaged, he had no choice but to retire before even taking the proper start.

Jack Doohan suffered the same fate with a big crash on the first lap of the race. He lost control of his Alpine when he put the throttle back on and couldn't avoid contact with the wall. A few seconds later, it was Carlos Sainz who was the victim of a crash in the last corner while the Madrilenian was in contention for points this Sunday. Finally, Fernando Alonso, Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto also did not take the checkered flag after their respective accidents.

F1 – Australian GP
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ALSO READ > Isack Hadjar laments after his accident on the formation lap

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Gonzalo Forbes

In charge of promotion formulas (F2, F3, FRECA, F4...). Carried by the grace of Franco Colapinto.

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1 Comment (s)

Yves-Henri RANDIER

16/03/2025 at 02:40 a.m.

The two McLarens missed each other in almost the same place, but the result was not the same because the local team did much less well in front of their home crowd!

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