McLaren’s Lando Norris has claimed victory at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, finishing ahead of reigning champion Max Verstappen as the 2025 Formula One season started off in dramatic style.
The Briton endured treacherous and changing conditions in an incident-packed race to finish first ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Verstappen, with George Russell of Mercedes finishing in third.
Norris’s win was due to the fact that McLaren made the right calls in a race blighted by crashes, three safety cars and an aborted start as the Briton laid down a marker in his bid to become world champion.
Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton’s competitive Ferrari debut was going great as he led briefly on lap 46 only for the seven-time F1 champion to end up finishing in 10 position, with teammate Charles Leclerc ending up in eighth.
Mercedes’ 18-year-old Italian rookie, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, finished in fourth in a dream debut, regaining fourth spot after a successful appeal by Mercedes to see him end the race ahead of Alex Albon of Williams. Lance Stroll took sixth place for Aston Martin, ahead of Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg,
Home favourite, Oscar Piastri of McLaren, suffered heartbreak at the penultimate corner after skidding off the track while fighting for a podium finish with Norris and Verstappen. When the Australian managed to get out of the grass and back on the track, he was only able to manage a ninth-placed finish.