The initial race of the 2025 Formula One season borne out of substantial pre-season anticipation, Lando Norris claimed triumph in the wet during an action-packed and incident-filled Australian Grand Prix.
However, that was only part of the tale, since the conditions were too challenging for many of Formula 1’s newcomers, as well as some experienced drivers.
Telegraph Sport delves into the major excitement, drama, and accidents from an action-packed day at Albert Park.
Formation lap – Hadjar has a crash
Isack Hadjar secured an impressive 11th qualifying position for Racing Bulls during his Grand Prix debut. However, he failed to complete his first official race start after losing control of his vehicle’s rear end while accelerating through Turn Two during the formation lap. This caused him to crash backward into the barrier and retire from the competition, with damage to his rear wing.
This wasn't just an interrupted beginning for the remaining 19 racers; it also jeopardized his own Formula One career.
“I felt ashamed and guilty for letting down my teammates. I simply went too far and my rear wheels spun out of control. Once I lost grip of the vehicle, I attempted to regain control, but I ended up being just a bystander. The whole incident happened incredibly quickly, and it caught me off guard,” he explained afterward.
Lap 1 - Doohan crashes his Alpine
The event begins with a slight delay of 15 minutes; however, this turns out to be unfortunate news for Australian newcomer Jack Doohan as he faces persistently wet and perilous track conditions. He manages only a few bends before encountering trouble. Exiting corner four, the back end of his Alpine starts sliding outward and collides sideways into the barrier. This causes his rear wing to become completely dislodged, resulting in an early retirement from the competition and prompting the deployment of the Safety Car.
Lap 1 - Sainz exits the race due to an incident under safety car conditions
As Williams showed strength in the opening game of the season, Carlos Sainz had hoped for a chance to score some championship points. Unfortunately, last year's Australian Grand Prix victor didn’t fare well, spinning oddly at the final turn during safety car periods. This misfortune leaves them as the third driver to drop out without completing a single lap.
"I experienced a significant power surge," the Spaniard stated following his side swipe into the barrier. Sainz subsequently mentioned that this uncommon crash was linked to a problem—whether with the vehicle itself or his adjustment to it—with the gearshifts during up-shifts in the FW47 while in Safety Car mode. This added another cringe-worthy incident to the race.
Lap 33 out of 57 – An unusual error from Alonso
During a rather calm phase of the race, McLaren managed to take control at the forefront, positioning themselves ahead of Max Verstappen, who trailed by over 10 seconds. Although the circuit had become slightly drier, an unusual error occurred from McLaren. Fernando Alonso tosses the outcome back into the sky once more.
When exiting Turn Six, the incident mirrored previous accidents and occurred right after he increased throttle coming off the bend. This unusual mistake happened despite being typically impeccable—a racer with over 400 grand prix starts under their belt. The Aston Martin driver’s left tires hit a damp curb and possibly ventured slightly onto the gravelly area, which led to contact with the barrier. Consequently, this triggered yet another deployment of the safety car, enabling much of the pack to make stops for dry-weather tires.
Lap 44 out of 57 – Piastri loses control and Norris goes off the track
As the downpour worsens, both McLarens find themselves struggling at corner 12. The leader is affected as well. Norris Initially, he veers off towards the gravel trap, but his teammate Oscar Piastri pushes even further outwards. Both manage to get back onto the racing line; however, as they approach turn 13, Norris shows some instability, whereas Piastri ends up spinning into the grass runoff area. Norris then returns to the pits for an intermediate tire change, which cedes the lead position to Max Verstappen. This shift occurs because Verstappen capitalized on the restart following the latest safety car period.
It seems for a moment that Piastri's race might be finished. But after enduring an excruciating delay, he finally succeeds in engaging reverse—much to the crowd's joy—and makes his way to the pit lane to change to intermediate tires. Nonetheless, he finds himself at the rear of the pack.
Lap 46 out of 57 - Ferrari's risky move doesn’t pay off.
Ferrari informed both of their drivers that the rain wouldn’t be very heavy or widespread. However, they were quickly proven incorrect; nonetheless, they opt to leave both drivers on slick tires even as championship front-runner Verstappen heads into the pit lane for fresh rubber.
For a while they are first and second, led by Hamilton, but by the end of the next lap they are engulfed first by a downpour and then by the chasing pack when it becomes clear that dry tyres were a disastrous choice in heavy rain. They both pit and drop back to the rear end of the points.
Hamilton expresses his dissatisfaction with the car early on: "We thought it wouldn't rain too much. It feels like we lost a significant chance here." Later, following the race, he critiques the advice Ferrari gave him regarding the changing weather conditions.
Lap 47 out of 57 – Another two newcomers have crashed.
Liam Lawson’s The Red Bull debut concludes catastrophically as they fall prey to the treacherous conditions. At the very first corner, the New Zealander experiences a tank slalom before colliding with the barrier on the outer edge of the circuit. Meanwhile, Gabriel Bortoleto, making his inaugural appearance for Sauber, meets a comparable fate at the second-to-last turn. These incidents mark them as the third and fourth novices among the six rookie drivers to be eliminated from the race due to crashes at Albert Park.
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