Norris wins against the elements in Australia: "It was a bit stressful, I'm not going to lie to you!"

It was highly anticipated this weekend, Lando Norris responded. The Briton took victory this Sunday at the opening round of the 2025 season, the Australian Grand Prix. However, this success was not easy to achieve despite the obvious domination of McLaren, far from it! Starting in pole position, the Englishman initially had to resist his teammate Oscar piastri in wet but drying conditions, while managing the race restarts with the Safety Cars.

In the last twenty laps, the rain returned and Lando Norris had a big scare when he went into the gravel in the last sector, a crucial moment that proved fatal for Oscar Piastri, who was stuck in the grass. The Briton immediately decided to pit to put on intermediates, a choice that allowed him to take the lead of the race when the rain intensified. Over the last six laps, after the last Safety Car, Lando Norris finally had to resist a Max Verstappen threatening, on an increasingly dry track. Six intense laps, but the McLaren driver held his own against his rival.

THE NORRIS / VERSTAPPEN BATTLE IN THE LAST LAP 😳

It was finally the McLaren driver who won after a crazy race!!#AustralianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/0wfn9HfqoG

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) March 16, 2025

With this victory, Lando Norris takes the lead of the Drivers' Championship for the first time in his career and ends the incredible run of Max Verstappen, who had never relinquished the lead since the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix! Above all, the Briton scores his first psychological point against the Dutchman and starts the season in the best possible way.

Lando Norris (McLaren), winner of the Australian GP : “It was incredible. It was a tough race, especially with Max [Verstappen] behind me! I gave it my all, especially in the last two laps, it was a bit stressful, I'm not going to lie! It's an incredible way to start the season. It was tough, because we went off track, made mistakes, I went into the gravel and had some damage. It was tricky conditions, but it was fun and unpredictable. This time we did things well, so I'm very happy.”

“We made a lot of mistakes last year, we learned from our mistakes. We lost at Silverstone and in Canada with races similar to this one. But it's only the first round of 2025, but facing the pressure with Max and Oscar [Piastri], I pushed the whole way. I couldn't really relax. It was hard not to make a mistake. I think I can take some credit for that. I have to say thank you to McLaren, they gave me an incredible car.”

“Max was fast. I knew I had good pace, but I made a mistake at Turn 6 and he came back into the DRS zone. Here, that’s equivalent to a second [gained]. It allowed him to stay within that second. I had to check the mirrors a bit more than I would have liked, but I stayed calm and listened to my engineer. (…) My weekend was incredible, right from Free Practice. It’s not easy to produce a weekend like this, especially with the pressure from Max and Oscar, because they’re hungry and competitive. It’s stressful, but I know what I’m capable of. But again, it’s only the first race, we’ll have to replicate that next week. It’s a long season, we have to keep our heads.”

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