McLaren’s Lando Norris held off reigning world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing to win an incident-filled, season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday in Melbourne.
Starting on the pole, Norris crossed the finish line at 1:42.06.304 seconds, just 0.895 of a second ahead of Verstappen to complete a race that was affected by both rain and a number of crashes.
‘It was amazing,’ Norris said following his fifth career win. ‘A tough race, especially with Max behind me. I was pushing, especially the last two laps were a little bit stressful, but an amazing way to start the year.’
Norris endured an anxious moment after he and teammate Oscar Piastri both slid onto the grass, resulting in Verstappen capturing the lead after Norris pitted.
‘A tough one because we went off, made some big mistakes and went through the gravel and did a lot of damage,’ the British Norris said. ‘It was just tricky conditions, but these are the ones that are enjoyable and fun and unpredictable, but this time we got it right and we ended up on top, so I’m very happy.’
Mercedes drivers George Russell (8.481 seconds behind Norris) and Italian teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli (10.135 seconds) finished third and fourth, respectively, and Williams driver Alex Albon (12.773 seconds) rounded out the top five. Antonelli initially was handed a five-second penalty by the stewards for an unsafe release, however the penalty was overturned after Mercedes appealed the decision.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton finished in 10th place in his Ferrari debut.
‘I’m grateful to finish, at least I got one point,’ Hamilton said. ‘Overall, not what I was hoping for, but there was so much to get accustomed to, to get used to, with all the switch settings and changes that they (the team) were throwing at you (over the radio).
‘Then just the balance of the car … It was really very, very tricky — really, really tricky today. I think we can improve that in the next race, hopefully, and get the car in a sweeter spot. I think there’s a lot more potential in the car than what we were able to extract today.’
Hamilton shocked the Formula 1 world when he signed with the iconic Italian team in February 2024 before closing out his historic 12-year run with Mercedes.