Formula 1 2025 arrived with the Australian Grand Prix hosting the season-opening race, bringing with it an indelible myriad of thrilling moments and incident – and all it needed for those to happen was a bit of rainfall.
After all the build-up, anticipation and speculation, the season, perhaps one of the most hotly-anticipated in years, got going at the Albert Park Circuit under a blanket of rain, heightening the tension, becoming a meteorological starting pistol for a race of high drama that comprised many winners and losers.
Lando Norris: 9
Qualified: P1, Race Result: P1
Norris picked up where he left off in 2024, with a win, and with pole position to boot.
There might be added pressure on the Briton this year, given that he is seemingly in the fastest car -this time from the start of the season – and in his seventh season in the sport, and many have questioned whether he will be able to cope with the pressure.
But in tricky conditions and circumstances, Norris managed it. Well, just.
Having had the measure of the field the whole race – the benchmark being team-mate Oscar Piastri – he and the fellow McLaren slid off the greasy surface on Lap 44 as rain became to descend once more.
But staying calm and composed, Norris rejoined, pitted for intermediates, retaking the lead when everyone else had come to the same conclusion that a change of rubber would be safer.
The late portion of the race would now see him being challenged by a familiar view in the mirrors – Max Verstappen – but in the end, Norris stayed the coolest man in Melbourne to kickstart the year in the more desired way, and hopefully for him, setting the tone to what might be a career-defining campaign.
The victory was latterly made more impressive by the revelation that he suffered floor damage in the midst of his excursion.
Oscar Piastri: 6
Qualified: P2, Race Result: P9
Piastri stayed in-touch with Norris for pretty much the whole race as he did he in qualifying, rectifying an early mistake on his first run to secure second, a fraction off Norris’ time.
At the start, Piastri lost out to Verstappen at Turn 2, but after regaining the position later and bearing down on Norris, he was ordered to hold station.
On Lap 44, following Norris off the road in sympathy, he wasn’t so lucky when it came to recovering, beaching himself in the wet grass.
Eventually working-out that reversing would be beneficial, Piastri extricated himself from the grass and back onto the track, his race now no more than a damage limitation job.
However, that particular task went well, picking-off a great deal of cars in-front of him, including a pass on Pierre Gasly and a daring move on Lewis Hamilton on the last lap.
On a different day, Piastri might have got himself onto the top step of the podium, but in a race where even some of the best drivers of many years made mistakes, he was caught-out by the elements, denying him not only a shot at a home win, but a more meaningful result.
Max Verstappen: 8.5
Qualified: P3, Race Result: P2
The reigning World Champion’s expectations have been lowered like a limbo pole this year, but writing off Max Verstappen is never a wise thing to do.
Qualifying third, albeit a three tenths off the McLarens’ pace, Verstappen, as per usual in this sort of weather, kept a calm head but on Lap 17, he made an uncharacteristic error into Turn 11.
He lost 14 seconds on the McLarens in the next 10 laps, but his bacon was saved by the arrival of the Safety Car, which gave him the opportunity to eradicate the gap.
After losing the obstacle Piastri was, he set about closing down on Norris, but in the end, he had to settle for second place, but after the glass-half-empty feeling the team had when coming into the race, it was a happy weekend for Verstappen to end-up on the podium.
Liam Lawson: 3
Qualified: P18 (Started from the pit lane), Race Result: DNF
In his first race for Red Bull, the Kiwi bemoaned his own lack of pace, and after missing FP3, it always felt he would be on the back foot in qualifying, particularly as he had never previously driven the Albert Park Circuit before the weekend.
After two mistakes on his push laps in Q1, he was eliminated, and after being opted to start in the pitlane, his race never really got going.
Given the unenviable position he was in during the race, his team chose to gamble and let him stay out on slicks when the rain returned on the infamous 44th lap, but it was quickly realised that this throw of the dice saw him land on a snake, rather than a ladder.
Into the wall at Turn 2, his race was done, but instead of the usual harsh critique from his Red Bull paymasters, Christian Horner defended Lawson’s race, saying his dry weather pace “was not too bad” and backed the “resilient” new team-mate to Verstappen to bounce back.
George Russell: 8.5
Qualified: P4, Race Result: P3
Whilst an uneventful, perhaps boring race might not always seem like a glowing review, Russell’s decision to take this tact was an intelligent one and saw him reap rewards with his best first-race result of his F1 career.
A good qualifying saw him as a potential cat amongst pigeons, Russell quickly determined that he would be faster over the course of the race than the Ferraris, and therefore opted to play it conservatively.
This approach served him well, as he found himself a benefactor in Piastri’s mistake and being able to largely make the finish un-pressured.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli: 8
Qualified: P16, Race Result: P4
Being a teenager and replacing one of the oldest drivers on the grid – who also happens to be one of the most successful ever – is a daunting task, particularly when you suffered in qualifying, and missing out on reaching the later stages, but it did not deter Antonelli.
The Italian was condemned to a lowly grid spot after floor damage caused by running over the kerbs, but come race day, he seemed to come of age.
Despite a spin in the race, he hauled his Mercedes up the order, an impressive feat in the dry, let alone the changeable weather that reality handed him during the race.
A late overtake on Alex Albon saw him finish fourth, though briefly relegated to fifth after a five-second time penalty which was later overturned.
Such an impressive debut will now give Antonelli a platform on which to build, proving he is worthy of the expectation placed about his shoulders.
Charles Leclerc: 6
Qualified: P7, Race Result: P8
The Monegasque sought to challenge McLaren having gone fastest in FP2, but come qualifying, optimism dissipated.
Qualifying a disappointing seventh, Leclerc managed to quickly get past Yuki Tsunoda and Albon, but any sense of brightness in Leclerc’s day went with the weather, as he was another spinning victim of the Lap 44 drizzle.
Not aided by another bungled Ferrari strategy decision, Leclerc pitted late which left him to leave Australia with eighth, having got past Gasly and new team-mate Lewis Hamilton late-on to claim two points.
Lewis Hamilton: 6
Qualified: P8, Qualified: P10
The most anticipated F1 driver move in years finally began, but not so much with a bang, but more the crackle of a cheap firework.
Unable to extract anymore pace out of the SF-25, Hamilton was forced to settle for eighth on the grid, and after being stuck behind Albon in the early stages, Hamilton would find himself, at one stage, running in the top three, but the strategic gamble, including a double-stacking with Leclerc, saw Hamilton come home in an underwhelming 10th for one point.
His downcast demeanour, so frequent in his final years at Mercedes, did not return however, and despite radio communications broadcast conveyed a sense of disconnect with his new engineer, Hamilton downplayed his weekend but recognised its still early-days in the union with his new team.
Alex Albon: 9
Qualified: P6, Race Result: P5
Albon had a weekend which helped early-season optimism that Williams are finally turning the corner from backmarkers to midfield contenders.
Qualifying fifth ahead of new team-mate Carlos Sainz, the Thai driver said the result was a vindication of such a prediction, and hopefully for the Grove squad, a sign of things to come.
Albon was able to hold-off Hamilton’s challenge for a big chunk of the race, and he, along with his team, profited from Ferrari’s strategy blunders, enabling him to score his best-ever result as a Williams driver.
Carlos Sainz: 4.5
Qualified: P10, Race Result: DNF
There would always be an inevitable sense of expectation on Sainz, having become Williams’ first race-winning driver on its roster for some time.
Running well in practice, Sainz was unable to match his team-mate in qualifying, but there was always room to improve for the race.
However, it all went horribly wrong very quickly.
Due to what the team put down to a spike in torque, Sainz dropped it at the exit of the final corner under the Safety Car before the end of Lap 1 to end his interest early.
Or so he thought, as his experience and insight became useful to the team later on.
Instead of ruminating on a less-than-desirable start to his Williams career, Sainz utilised his knowledge to help the team tweak its strategy which significantly boosted Albon’s race, providing a glimmer of something impressive to show for what was, on track, a disappointing first race.
Lance Stroll: 7.5
Qualified: P13, Race Result: P6
Lance Stroll has a really unenviable position in F1: a driver with a seat virtually guaranteed by the family connection to his team, and often making mistakes that often give the Canadian the aura of being a rookie, when in reality, it’s his ninth season in F1.
But Stroll can deliver in the wet, and amid all the chaos around him, he kept his head well.
Qualifying behind his team-mate Fernando Alonso, Stroll was able to be, for a change, the Aston Martin driver who showed experience under difficult circumstances, profiting from the mistakes of his partner and others to surely give the Silverstone-based squad a result it was not expecting at all.
Fernando Alonso: 4
Qualified: P12, Race Result: DNF
Alonso’s disposition across the whole weekend made the Sunday weather seem more sunny by comparison.
Aware time is not on his side with age, combined with what appears to be a car that is regressing from last year’s, and the year before.
Narrowly missing-out on Q3, Alonso could usually be counted-on to perform under adversity, but an unusual error at Turn 6 ended his afternoon, a particular shame for him as he had been running well with good pace on the intermediate tyres.
Nico Hulkenberg: 7
Qualified: P17, Race Result: P7
In one fell swoop, Hulkenberg managed to help Sauber surpass its 2024 points total in one race, the German returning to the Swiss outfit before it begins its transition into the works Audi team.
The veteran’s weekend did not get off to a good start, however, as he was out-qualified by rookie team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto, but a sensible race by him and his team saw him climb up the order, and finish ahead of the Ferraris and home favourite Piastri to begin his second stint with Sauber on perhaps the most positive note it could have hoped for.
Gabriel Bortoleto: 6
Qualified: P15, Race Result DNF
The reigning F2 champion began life as an F1 driver facing the wrath of Red Bull’s outspoken advisor Helmut Marko, who labelled the Brazilian as a “B driver”.
Undeterred, Bortoleto was able to out-qualify Hulkenberg, and ran well during the race, particularly given the tricky conditions in what was a hectic day’s running for a rookie, but was unable to make the finish after crashing at the exit of Turn 11.
A rear suspension problem caused the crash, taking the heat of Bortoleto’s more harsher critics.
Yuki Tsunoda: 9
Qualified: P5, Race Result: P12
Tsunoda must have flown out of Australia rueing what might have been due to a strategic error, but can be hugely proud of himself for a sterling performance all weekend.
Qualifying in fifth, 13 places ahead of Lawson – the man he surely considered his competition for that coveted Red Bull drive – the Japanese ran superbly all race.
He overtook Leclerc after switching for slicks, but like Leclerc, he suffered a similar fate of being left out for too long towards the end of the race when the rain returned, leaving him out of the points, no reward for his fine performance.
Racing Bulls accepted responsibility for the mistake, and will be hoping of giving him the same sort of car performance in China to ensure he will be battling in the points-scoring positions again.
Isack Hadjar: 3
Qualified: P11, Race Result: DNF
After the events of Sunday, it was hard to determined which was redder: a Ferrari, or Hadjar’s face, as an embarrassing moment on the formation lap ended his afternoon before it even began.
The weekend had started so well for the French rookie too, narrowly missing-out on Q3, but 11th was enough to get many people talking positively about the 2024 Formula 2 runner-up’s chances.
Come race day, the rain, coupled with the act of attempting to warm his tyres, Hadjar slid into the barrier on the exit of Turn 2, which left him with nothing to do but endure a walk of shame through the paddock, soothed by the comforting words of Lewis Hamilton’s father Anthony, who consoled him.
Hadjar’s mental strength will now be tested between now and China, as scrutiny will surely continue for what was, quite literally, a rookie error.
Pierre Gasly: 6
Qualified: P9, Race Result: P11
Gasly is, perhaps for the first time in his career, a true team leader, with Alpine largely squared around him with Esteban Ocon now at Haas.
The French team was perhaps not quite as competitive as it hoped. With Williams naming it its midfield benchmark for 2025, Alpine were outdone in both qualifying and the race.
Qualifying ninth ahead of Sainz but behind Albon by two-tenths, Gasly did not have quite enough power under his right foot to keep himself in the top 10 during the race, labouring to an 11th-place finish behind Hamilton.
Jack Doohan: 3.5
Qualified: P14, Race Result: DNF
Whilst all F1 drivers, particularly rookies, enter a season with the spotlight under them, it’s fair to say Doohan is perhaps the one with the most eyes watching him.
As what must feel like a million different magnifying glasses inspecting his every turn of the wheel, Doohan must have also felt the presence of Alpine reserve driver Franco Colapinto, widely-speculated to be waiting in the wings to replace the Australian, hanging over him like a cloud as dark as the ones in the Melbourne sky.
The weekend got off to a positive start, qualifying in 14th and showing a decent amount of pace, and could count himself unlucky not to make it into Q3, after losing the use of DRS on his final run after Hamilton spun ahead of him.
Before that, his day’s running had seen him largely on-par with Gasly in terms of his times.
But under all those watching eyes, the dream of racing in-front of his home fans quickly turned into a nightmare, as he would, like Sainz, not complete a lap, clouting the barrier at Turn 6.
Whilst Hadjar’s critics might forgive him for his mistake, Doohan must now endure a more torrid week of forensic analysis, Colapinto continues to lurk in the shadows, waiting to pounce.
Oliver Bearman: 3
Qualified: P20 (Started from the pit lane), Race Result: P14
An early crash in FP1 set the tone for a depressing weekend for Bearman and Haas, the young Brit completing less than 14 laps by the time of qualifying.
A gearbox issue further compounded his misery, and in the race, he would spin at Turn 12, but was able to make it to the end, along with his team-mate, banking necessary and useful mileage for the American squad.
Esteban Ocon: 5
Qualified: P14, Race Result: P13
In what was, essentially, an extended test session for Haas, Ocon was the slowest driver to set a lap time in qualifying, no doubt a painful experience as he would see former employers Alpine jostling for top 10 finishes.
In the race, he was able to assert some inter-team dominance, being able to finish around seven seconds up the road from Bearman, the pair keeping everything crossed for an improvement with the aid of its technical partners Ferrari and Toyota soon.
READ MORE – Lando Norris survives late drama to win F1 Australian GP
