Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit on March 14, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images for McLaren)

Formula 1 News: Norris wins tight pole battle for Australian GP pole

Lando Norris in the superior #4 McLaren-Mercedes turned a lap of 1m15.096s to win the pole position for the 2025 Australian GP around the Albert Park Circuit.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

So superior is the McLaren, no driver could get within 4/10ths of a second of the two Woking machines and they were eight tenths faster than last year’s pole time.

“I mean, it is the perfect way to start the year,” said a happy Norris. “A big congrats to the team, everyone has done an amazing job to start with a 1-2. But it is just quali right, let’s see tomorrow.

“The car is extremely quick and when you put it together it is unbelievable, but it is hard to put it together. I’m never going to get ahead of myself, I’m confident the car is in a good place but we have never run it in the wet…”

Related Article:  Formula 1 News: Oscar Piastri tops Australian GP Practice 3

Hometown hero Oscar Piastri was 2nd fastest in the #81 McLaren, 0.084s behind Norris.

Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit on March 14, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images for McLaren)

“Pretty happy, great to start the year on the front row,” said Piastri. “Pretty happy with how qualifying went but just not quite enough in Q3, but it is a long season so a good start.

“Maybe left a little bit on the table, but I’m just happy to be on the front row and have a good start.”

Max Verstappen was third fastest in the #1 Red Bull, a massive 0.385s behind Norris. Tomorrow should be wet, which could play into Verstappen’s hands.

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB21 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit on March 14, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

“It was good, yesterday was quite tough so for us to be P3 today, I’d take that,” said Verstappen. “Quali laps are exciting, good grip around here and some fast corners.

“Dry or wet, in the wet crazy things can happen and around here it could be quite slippery but it is the same for everyone so we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

George Russell was 4th for Mercedes, 0.450s behind Norris, while Yuki Tsunoda was sensational in the #22 Racing Bull, 0.574s behind Norris.

The most disappointed has to be Ferrari with Charles Leclerc down in 7th behind Alex Albon and Lewis Hamilton in 8th.

McLaren will grab the headlines, but Verstappen and Red Bull turning their weekend around to grab third is also a big story.

Russell was right in the mix too for Mercedes, with Ferrari fading badly – Leclerc wound up seventh, Hamilton eighth with two tenths between those team mates.

And how about Tsunoda in a Racing Bull in P5? Or Albon’s Williams in P6?

The gaps were tight as predicted – 0.084s between the McLarens, Russell 0.065s off Verstappen, and Albon just 0.067s back from Tsunoda, while Leclerc was a further 0.018s back.

2025 Australian GP Qualifying Results

Pos No. Driver Nat. Team Q1 Q2 Q3
1

4

Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m15.912s 1m15.415s 1m15.096s
2

81

Oscar Piastri AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m16.062s 1m15.468s 1m15.180s
3

1

Max Verstappen NED Oracle Red Bull Racing 1m16.018s 1m15.688s 1m15.481s
4

63

George Russell GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 1m15.971s 1m15.556s 1m15.546s
5

22

Yuki Tsunoda JPN Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team 1m16.225s 1m16.009s 1m15.670s
6

23

Alex Albon THA Atlassian Williams Racing 1m16.245s 1m16.017s 1m15.737s
7

16

Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari HP 1m16.029s 1m15.827s 1m15.755s
8

44

Lewis Hamilton GBR Scuderia Ferrari HP 1m16.213s 1m15.919s 1m15.973s
9

10

Pierre Gasly FRA BWT Alpine F1 Team 1m16.328s 1m16.112s 1m15.980s
10

55

Carlos Sainz ESP Atlassian Williams Racing 1m16.360s 1m15.931s 1m16.062s
11

6

Isack Hadjar FRA Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team 1m16.354s 1m16.175s  –
12

14

Fernando Alonso ESP Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team 1m16.288s 1m16.453s  –
13

18

Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team 1m16.369s 1m16.483s  –
14

7

Jack Doohan AUS BWT Alpine F1 Team 1m16.315s 1m16.863s  –
15

5

Gabriel Bortoleto BRA Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber 1m16.512s 1m17.520s  –
16

12

Kimi Antonelli ITA Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 1m16.525s  –  –
17

27

Nico Hulkenberg GER Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber 1m16.579s  –  –
18

30

Liam Lawson NZL Oracle Red Bull Racing 1m17.094s  –  –
19

31

Esteban Ocon FRA MoneyGram Haas F1 Team 1m17.147s  –  –
20

87

Oliver Bearman GBR MoneyGram Haas F1 Team No time set  –  –