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F1 Review: Lando Norris Handles The Pressure, Bags Louis Vuitton Australian Grand Prix Win

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Pole-sitter Lando Norris validated McLaren’s lofty expectations and held off a late Max Verstappen charge to win the Formula 1 season opener in wet and wild Australia on Sunday (March 16th). With a wet track, threatening skies, and ever-changing tire strategies a constant at the Melbourne circuit, Norris remained calm while spins and crashes claimed several drivers – rookies and veterans alike. Verstappen took second, less than a second behind, and George Russell’s consistent and error-free race netted him the last spot on the podium.

“It was amazing,” Norris said. “A tough race, especially with Max behind me. The last two laps were a little bit stressful, I’m not going to lie, but an amazing way to start the year.

“To McLaren I have to give a big thanks, because they’ve given me an amazing car.”

“It feels incredible,” Norris said. “Not for myself but for the whole team. The team have done an amazing job this year to come from where we were at the beginning.

“I’m so proud of everyone. It’s been a lovely journey, and to end the season like this is perfect. For us to win a constructors’ [championship] after 26 years is pretty special.”

Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli lived up to expectations and despite a spin, took fourth, while Alexander Albon, Williams Racing’s lone hope after Carlos Sainz’s early exit, finished fifth. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was sixth, Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg was seventh, with Ferrari’s Charles LeClerc and Lewis Hamilton, in eighth and 10th, respectively, sandwiching McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who saw his win and podium hopes dashed with a spin into the grass on lap 44.  

In the driver standings, Norris leads Verstappen 25 to 18, with Russell third with 15 points. 

In the constructor standings, McLaren leads with 27 points, followed closely by Mercedes with 25. Red Bull sits in third with 18.

The Race

With some early afternoon rain, all cars on the grid started on intermediate tires. The season opener, spiced up by a wet track, promised an unpredictable and likely chaotic race. 

And the initial start didn’t disappoint, as it was aborted when Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar lost control on the formation lap and backed his car into the proverbial “rookie wall” in Turn 2, ending his race, and possibly his career.  

On the second start attempt, Norris got the best of teammate Piastri, with Verstappen making a typical quick start and slipping past Piastri for second. 

Then more chaos ensued, with no less than two drivers asking Hadjar to “Hold my beer.” Alpine’s Jack Doohan lost control in Turn 6 and hit the wall, bringing out the first safety car. Then, Sainz lost control of his Williams and smacked the wall while under the safety car. Three cars were out of the race after just a single racing lap had been completed!  

Once green flag racing resumed, Norris, Verstappen, and Piastri checked out on the rest of the field. Norris masterfully managed his tires while Verstappen tried to hound his rival into a mistake.

The pressure on Norris was reduced significantly when Verstappen locked up under braking and relinquished second to Piastri on lap 17. With his tires fading, Verstappen was quickly 10 seconds adrift of Piastri, and despite his pleas for a tire change, Red Bull told Verstappen to stay out. 

The race proceeded incident free until laps 34, when Fernando Alonso crashed at Turn 7, and the second edition of Bernd Mayländer’s safety car was deployed. Pit lane became very busy, with Norris and Piastri both taking sets of hard tires, with Verstappen choosing mediums, hoping that his tires would reach ideal temperatures sooner than those of the McLarens.

A short, but possibly intense, rain shower looked imminent in the forecast, which would wreak havoc on the race with most of the cars on hards or mediums. That rain arrived in earnest on lap 44, and both McLaren’s lost control in Turn 12. In maybe the most crucial moment of the race, Norris quickly gathered his McLaren and dove into the pits for intermediates. Piastri, however, slid into the crass and nearly stranded his car, but was able to rejoin, albeit after losing mounds of time.

Verstappen continued on slicks, assuming the lead, but quickly realized intermediates were necessary and rejoined behind Norris. The two were soon running 1-2 after the Ferrari later pitted for intermediates. 

Then, rookies Gabriel Bortoleto and Liam Lawson wrecked at different points in the track, and the final safety car was summoned, setting up a five-lap dash for the checkered.

Verstappen was in DRS range of Norris for the duration, and tension was quite evident. But the four-time world champion never got close enough to make a serious attack, although the battle surely presaged similar battled we can expect from the two rivals this season.

Norris crossed the line less than a second ahead of Verstappen, firing the first shot across the bow in the 2025 championship race.

 The Good

It’s been said often, but it bears repeating: rain is the best thing that can happen in an F1 race. While many drivers in Australia who failed to heed the tried and true F1 adage “Don’t hit the gas when either of your four tires are on the paint when the track is wet” may disagree, rain is a variable in a race that creates so many new variables. Among those new variables are additional tire choices, and deciding if and when to even use these tires. And nowhere is an extremely localized weather forecast, especially an accurate one, more impactful than at an F1 race. Rain gives teams and drivers, who otherwise would have no chance to win a race, a good chance to win a race, if they can make the right decisions and strategy calls, those sometimes being the total opposite of what the top teams do. Without the rain in Melbourne, you likely don’t see a Williams, Haas, and Sauber cars in the top 10. F1 races are exponentially more exciting when more cars are competing for the win. 

Controversial opinion: F1 should mandate sprinkler systems at all tracks, and have them set to engage at totally random times. Similar to when phantom cautions in NASCAR races happen at “totally random” times (if “totally random” is defined as “when a driver has a huge lead and the laps are dwindling, and we’d like to extend this race as long as possible and at least make the finish close”).

Hadjar’s crash was a terrible moment for the Alpine rookie, and you could see he was totally crushed by the mistake. But in a touching moment, Lewis Hamilton’s father, Anthony Hamilton, consoled a clearly distraught Hadjar as he made his way back to Racing Bulls HQ. I can only imagine what kind words Hamilton said to Hadjar. I like to imagine he said “Sorry you ‘Hadjar’ race end early.” Or, “Chin up, young lad. As long as Liam Lawson is here, you’re not the worst driver on the grid.”

Piastri played the perfect teammate to Norris, and he probably didn’t even realize it. No, not by spinning out of contention and shattering the hopes of Australia on lap 44, and leaving Norris one less challenger for the win. The best thing Piastri did for Norris was qualifying second on Saturday (March 15th). Had Piastri not qualified second, Verstappen, whose start at lights out was superior to both McLaren’s, would have surely overtaken Norris for the lead and changed the complexion of the entire race. Piastri unknowingly served as a buffer for his teammate, a sacrificial lamp, if you will, allowing Norris to maintain the lead into Turn 1.

The Bad

Sainz said his shocking spin out of the race behind the safety was due to “massive torque delivery.” And what exactly is “massive torque delivery.” Is it a Swedish doom metal outfit from Stockholm? Is it something you can only get from a top of the line, industrial strength hydraulic screwdriver? Is it the name Vince McMahon suggested for a yoked up-and-coming superstar before wisely deciding to stick to his real name, Brock Lesnar? Or, is “massive torque delivery” just code for “a huge driver error one would expect from a rookie, but not from a veteran in his 11th year in Formula 1, with four wins to his name, who was also the sport’s prized free agent signing?” 

Lewis Hamilton was clearly not happy with his car. Does anyone remember a time in the last two years when Hamilton was happy with his car. It begs the question: what’s more finicky? Hamilton, or his cars? I mean, it can’t be easy for a driver to step into a ride with an iconic Formula 1 team and be expected to immediately produce points-scoring results. Can it, Kimi Andrea Antonelli?

Understandably, it’s going to take time for Hamilton to adjust to driving a car that’s completely different than what he’s used to. And to be fair, Ferrari’s cars in Australia displayed all the firepower of a Nerf gun. But it doesn’t mean he should be downright rude to engineers who are just trying to do their job and keep their driver informed. That’s certainly not behavior you’d expect from a man who’s achieved the honor of being knighted, and exactly the behavior you’d expect from non-knighted drivers like Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso. 

In short, do better, Ferrari, and do better, Lewis Hamilton.

It was a tough day for Oceania. Australian Jack Doohan was eliminated from the race before it even began, and countrymate and legitimate world champion threat Oscar Piastri blew his chances with a spin.

That left the weight of Oceania’s hopes on the narrow, weakly-sloping shoulders of New Zealander Liam Lawson. Lawson started from the pit lane, so it’s not like his chances of a successful race were good, or even existent, for that matter. And he didn’t disappoint, which in the realm of Lawson’s talent and expectations, means he did disappoint. Rumor has it that in some parts of Mexico, Lawson has been given the name “Wrech-o.” 

We’re only one race into the season, but Red Bull is likely having second thoughts already of choosing Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda in the car next to Verstappen. If the results in Australia showed us anything, it’s that Verstappen can win his fifth drivers championship, but Red Bull won’t even be remotely close to a constructors championship.      

So Zak Brown, are Norris and Piastri allowed to race each other? Or no? You spent every interview before and during the race saying “Yes,” but when Piastri was breathing down Norris’ neck early in the race, we hear McLaren tell Piastri to “Hold position.” Then, when Norris opens up a decent lead over his teammate, you say “Race on.” Come on, Zak. Your answers to those questions are as sketchy as your slicked-back hair.

The Unexplained

Why exactly was Charles Leclerc seemingly alarmed when he reported a seat full of water midway through the race? It was raining, of course, but that wouldn’t explain the amount of water Leclerc reported. Ferrari was not worried one bit, as they replied to Leclerc’s concern matter-of-fact-ly “It must be the water.” Leclerc sarcastically answered “I’ll add that to the words of wisdom.”

It’s peak Ferrari, when they’re able to deliver comedy, but not results.

Still, was it simply the rain, or was there an issue with the car, or does Leclerc have an issue of his own? Well, I guess that “Depends.”

Grid Walk Moments

While Martin Brundle’s “Grid Walk” wasn’t televised on ESPN’s broadcast, it was, thankfully, on Sky Sports’ coverage. On the crowded, narrow grid of the Melbourne circuit that seemed to be lacking in star power, it was less a case of Brundle “rubbing shoulders with F1 royalty” and more a case of ‘bumping shoulders with the common man/woman.”

Brundle did snag quick chats with British singer-songwiter Raye, a guest of Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton, and Hamilton’s father, Anthony Hamilton. And he had some brief exchanges with a few drivers, but nothing worth a second look.

I think the most exciting Grid Walk moment was Brundle’s cameraman wiping the rain off his lens. If anyone deserved Grid Walk glory, it was that guy.  

The Driver

Norris made the split-second decision to pit right after he spun through the gravel on lap 44. Behind him, Piastri was struggling to excavate himself from the results of his own spin. Ahead of Norris, Verstappen stayed out on his slick tires and took the lead, albeit briefly, as he opted for intermediates a lap later. 

Norris decision appeared to be a race-winning one. Had he not pitted, he would have been behind Verstappen, and tasked with attempting to pass the Red Bull in the final five laps. And we all know Verstappen would stop at nothing to prevent that from happening.

Save for the spin itself, Norris did everything right in this race, from astute tire management, to holding serve on each of the restarts. And probably his most impressive, and difficult accomplishment, was closing out the race in the final five laps with Verstappen close and ready to pounce an the slightest Norris mistake.  

The Results (Louis Vuitton Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit)

PosNoDriverCarLapsTime/retiredPts
14Lando NorrisMcLaren Mercedes571:42:06.30425
21Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing Honda RBPT57+0.895s18
363George RussellMercedes57+8.481s15
412Andrea Kimi AntonelliMercedes57+10.135s12
523Alexander AlbonWilliams Mercedes57+12.773s10
618Lance StrollAston Martin Aramco Mercedes57+17.413s8
727Nico HulkenbergKick Sauber Ferrari57+18.423s6
816Charles LeclercFerrari57+19.826s4
981Oscar PiastriMcLaren Mercedes57+20.448s2
1044Lewis HamiltonFerrari57+22.473s1
1110Pierre GaslyAlpine Renault57+26.502s0
1222Yuki TsunodaRacing Bulls Honda RBPT57+29.884s0
1331Esteban OconHaas Ferrari57+33.161s0
1487Oliver BearmanHaas Ferrari57+40.351s0
NC30Liam LawsonRed Bull Racing Honda RBPT46DNF0
NC5Gabriel BortoletoKick Sauber Ferrari45DNF0
NC14Fernando AlonsoAston Martin Aramco Mercedes32DNF0
NC55Carlos SainzWilliams Mercedes0DNF0
NC7Jack DoohanAlpine Renault0DNF0
NC6Isack HadjarRacing Bulls Honda RBPT0DNF0