F1 News: Norris holds off Verstappen to win messy Australian GP

Polesitter Lando Norris used his superior McLaren to perfection to win a wet 2025 Australian GP at Albert Park that saw numerous crashes and Safety Car periods.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

On a track that started wet, dried partially, and then it rained again, Norris survived a slide into the gravel and then had to hold off Max Verstappen in the final 6-lap sprint to the checkered.

Max Verstappen got to with 0.895s of Norris at the finish but could not get past on the wet track.

Norris looked more relieved than anything as he climbed out of his McLaren, which is the class of the field in the dry and not half bad in the wet.

“It was amazing, a top race, especially with Max behind me,” said a relived Norris.

“I was pushing, especially the last two laps – it was a little bit stressful, not going to lie.

“Tricky conditions, but there are the ones that are enjoyable, and we ended up on top so I’m happy.

“We got it wrong a lot last year so I guess we learned from our mistakes – we lost out in Silverstone and Canada in similar conditions. Dealing with the pressure, dealing with Max, with Oscar behind me. I was pushing the whole way through.

“A challenging race, but for McLaren, I need to give thanks as they have given me a brilliant car.”

“It was a difficult race, but at the end it was fun,” said Verstappen.

“Lando had a little moment in Turn 6 which is why I got close. It was fun, pushing, fighting for the win but I’m just happy to bring it home, score good points and this is a good start for us.

“[When] I stayed out, the first lap was alright but the weather continued. At the end of the day if we had boxed one lap earlier, we would have been P2 anyway so it was worth a gamble. It was quite spicy on the slick tires.

“This is where I expected to be, it is 18 points more than I had here last year, so I’ll take that.”

Norris and Verstappen left the Mercedes of George Russell way behind in those final 6 green flag laps by over 1-second per lap.  Russell finished over 8 seconds behind at the checkered flag for the final podium position.

“It was a great race to come home in P3,” said Russell. “And well done to Lando, a race like that when you are leading is probably your worst nightmare.

“Well done to Kimi too. Not our strongest race, but let’s come back next weekend. It was good fun, I was quite enjoying it to be honest, hoping the two guys ahead make a mistake and I could slip through. Hope everyone enjoyed it at home!”

Norris controlled the early stages of Sunday’s encounter from McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on a sodden track, before improving conditions enabled a switch to slick tires over the second half.

However, shortly after the field had ditched their intermediates, another patch of heavier rain soaked the circuit once more, dramatically sending both McLarens onto the grass and bringing most drivers immediately back into the pits for suitable rubber.

While Norris managed to gather his car and head into the pit lane, Piastri spun off at the penultimate corner and lost a heap of time trying to recover the situation – a chain of events that released reigning World Champion Verstappen into the lead.

Alex Albon was a sensational 5th for Williams, 12.773s behind Norris. Albon has certainly proven that Williams have pace in the dry and the wet. His fourth was a defensive masterclass, as he absorbed plenty of pressure from behind.

“I did briefly dream of the podium! In those conditions, it is just about knowing your limits. You need a bit of a barrier to the limit, it was so gusty out there, tires overheating, tires getting too cold. You can’t drive it at 99%, you have to know when to risk it or not. As I said before the race, the rookies – it is so hard to know how the tires are going to work, it’s a race to survive.”

Kimi Antonelli was 4th in his maiden Grand Prix start, 10.135s behind Norris. Antonelli received a 5-second penalty for an unsafe pit stop release, but that was later reversed.

Lance Stroll was 6th for Aston Martin while his teammate Lando Norris was one of many to crash out in the treacherous conditions.

Nico Hulkenberg, Charles Leclerc and a recovering Oscar Piastri – who might have won but for the spin – were 7th, 8th and 9th respectively.

Lewis Hamilton got schooled by Leclerc and Piastri in the final laps and had to settle for the final point in his Ferrari debut.

Isack Hadjar, Jack Doohan and Carlos Sainz Jr. all crashed out before the race was a lap old. Hadjar managed to crash on the formation lap.

As the top-3 were finishing up their podium celebration, the skies opened up and a torrential downpour sent every scurrying.

2025 Australian GP Results – 57 Laps