The 2025 season-opening Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix has been and gone, but what were the main talking points from a chaotic and gripping encounter Down Under?
Norris and McLaren rise to the occasion
The overwhelming consensus that McLaren possesses the benchmark package in the MCL39 was not misguided as the team dominated proceedings at the Albert Park Circuit when it mattered come rain or shine.
Lando Norris’ winning margin over Max Verstappen might have been as small as eight-tenths come the chequered flag, but that didn’t mirror the true picture as various interventions – including a late rain shower and Safety Car periods – concealed the true extent of the advantage McLaren harbours.
Having survived Verstappen’s initial onslaught, the McLaren duo opened up a 14-second gap on the Dutchman within 10 laps as the track dried and the MCL39’s gentleness on the rubber came to the fore.
That succeeded Verstappen lagging over three-tenths behind on single-lap pace, which prompted Mercedes’ George Russell to claim that McLaren could pivot attention to the impending regulation change coming in 2025 and still take both titles this season.
Norris has dispelled such assertions as he urged McLaren not to become complacent, though he has acknowledged that the Woking-based squad can’t escape the recognition that it is now the team to beat.
Nevertheless, the composure shown in the cockpit and on the pit wall in a race situation that might have tripped Norris and McLaren up in 2024 shows the combination is prepared to rise to the occasion this time.
Ferrari’s title hopes in tatters?
Ferrari appeared primed to place McLaren under some pressure when Charles Leclerc headed the second practice session. But that table-topping pace subsided as the weekend progressed, culminating in a disastrous race that saw Lewis Hamilton trail home in a dismal 10th place on his debut outing in red, two spots behind new team-mate Leclerc.
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur expressed that the changeable conditions prevalent in the race distorted the team’s gap to McLaren, which Leclerc even voiced concern could have been as extreme as two seconds per lap.
Both drivers have insisted that the SF-25 comprises potential that is still to be unlocked, but question marks remain over whether there is enough pace to challenge McLaren and whether it can be extracted in time to rescue the side’s championship bid.
However, a Sprint race being included on this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix schedule will give the teams a single practice hour to set up their cars, handing Ferrari minimal time outside competitive sessions to gather crucial data on how its new car is behaving.
Mercedes’ post-Hamilton era is bright
The scepticism that had been attached to Mercedes’ decision to replace seven-time F1 champion Hamilton with a rookie in Andrea Kimi Antonelli heightened when the teenager, having incurred damage riding over a kerb, experienced a premature elimination in Q1.
However, Antonelli silenced the doubters with an exceptional drive in the race, gaining 12 spots to claim fourth place. The Italian showcased commendable commitment in the wet to execute some audacious overtaking manoeuvres, including one on Alex Albon’s Williams on the penultimate lap.
With Russell, now settling into his role as the recognised team leader at Mercedes in Hamilton’s absence, capitalising on Oscar Piastri’s spin to seize a podium, the German marque is tied level with McLaren on 27 points in the Constructors’ Championship.
Mercedes still can’t provide a match to its engine customer when it comes to outright competitiveness, but with no glaring weaknesses to resolve, the squad seems to have a more stable base to build on with the W16 than with its recalcitrant predecessors.
READ MORE – Mercedes F1 rookie Kimi Antonelli proves he’s worth the hype in Australia
Williams winter promise delivers big return
The pre-season suspicion that Williams has assembled a car that could be a regular points scorer in 2025 was realised in Australia as Albon bagged a top-five finish.
The Grove-based squad had encountered a nightmare weekend at the same venue almost 12 months earlier, with an overweight car that was limited on spare parts causing the team to run without one car in the race.
However, there have been no such troubles that have blighted Williams with the FW47, the machine which Albon and new team-mate Carlos Sainz advanced into Q3 with.
Sainz’s maiden race with the team lasted one lap as he ended up in the wall, but the Spaniard engaged his brain to provide an extra mind on the strategic front. That helped Williams and Albon make the right call on the transitions to slicks and then back to Intermediates later in the race, allowing the Anglo-Thai driver to record his best race finish with the team since his arrival in 2022.
But based on what the weekend’s running showed – which included Sainz topping FP1 – Williams will have more opportunities this season to secure a double-digit points haul.
Haas in trouble?
Williams would have been expecting to have Haas as close competition among a tight midfield contingent based on the team’s climb up the ranks to sixth last time around.
However, the Kannapolis-based squad languished at the bottom throughout the weekend, with even both cars reaching the end in an attritional race not enough to generate a morale-boosting points return.
Haas had been bullish about its seasonal prospects as it revealed that sizeable gains had been discovered in the wind tunnel, but that, to date, hasn’t translated to the track.
Oliver Bearman didn’t help matters as he crashed in the opening practice session, leaving him consigned to the garage throughout FP2. The Briton then got beached in the gravel in FP3, while a gearbox issue reared its head on his VF-25 come qualifying.
However, the Ferrari protege did at least make it to the end, albeit behind his more experienced team-mate Esteban Ocon, who will be hoping that Haas’ surprise struggles won’t be a pattern on conventional circuits amid the woe he endured at Alpine in 2024.
READ MORE – Lando Norris survives late drama to win F1 Australian GP
