Lando Norris wins a chaotic Australian Grand Prix to start the Formula One season

By: Henry Quach

Photo Credit: Reese Mautone

On March 16th, 2025, a rainy race in Australia started the 2025 Formula One season, as it turned out to be a chaotic grand prix with multiple crashes and safety cars. In the end, McLaren’s Lando Norris took home the victory.

Rain can become a huge factor when it comes to Formula One racing for many reasons. It can impact road conditions, reducing the vehicle’s grip, and ultimately changing race lines, which could cause major accidents and race delays. This can often force teams and drivers to change their strategies for the race. 

However, fans were welcomed to the season opener of the 2025 Formula One season in Melbourne, Australia, as it kicked off at the Australian Grand Prix with 57 laps set for this race.

This qualifying session was a competitive battle, but McLaren’s Lando Norris was able to finish with the fastest lap in that session, earning him the most favorable starting position, known as the pole position.  

Before the official race can begin, a formation lap must be completed to allow the drivers time to warm up their tires and see the current conditions of the road.

This lap would turn into a disaster for Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar after he slipped and lost his car into the barriers during the formation lap, causing Hadjar to end his racing debut. 

This delayed start allowed time for the F1 marshals to clean up the car pieces that were lost during the crash to ensure a safe road to drive on.

Following this, another formation lap began. All 19 drivers were ready and signaled by Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) starter Christian Bryll to start the five, red light, timed, light-based countdown, as it tests the driver’s reaction time to either gain or lose their original positioning. Here, anything could happen.

The drivers were ready to take on the challenge of the slick roads of Australia. During the 57 laps, Norris was able to keep his lead position for the majority of the race. 

In just the first lap, a safety car was immediately called for Alpine driver Jack Doohan after he lost his grip, which, similarly to Hadjar, would cause him to lose his car into the barriers and end his racing debut. Just a lap later, Carlos Sainz would also end his Atlassian Williams Racing debut on Lap 2, suffering the same situation as Doohan and Hadjar.  

Depending on the severity of the crash, a safety car can be called in to reset the track. The marshals are then given time to clean up the track and develop changes of strategies or tires.

On Lap 34, Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso crashed into the wall and ended his race, where another safety car was called. 

Then, on Lap 45, both McLaren drivers Norris and Oscar Piastri would go off the track, and despite Norris being able to keep it together to keep the lead, Piastri could not recover. He spun off onto the grass and dropped 12 positions despite being second for the majority of the race. 

On Lap 47, Red Bull Racing driver Liam Lawson and Kick Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto ended their races as they both crashed into the barriers, causing the third safety car. 

It was a challenging battle throughout, but Norris kept his composure and won the Australian Grand Prix, with Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen finishing second and Mercedes driver George Russell finishing third. 

All ten teams will next head out to Shanghai, China, for the Chinese Grand Prix, and will then head to Suzuka, Japan, on April 3-6 for the Japanese Grand Prix. It's too early to know who will win the championship, and after a chaotic race like this one, anything can happen in the next 23 races.