The world turned upside down - season opener: Australia Grand Prix 2025

Esther Kienapfel

Mar 162 min read

The 2025 season opener was nothing less than nerve wrecking. This years first Grand Prix took part in Melbourne in unstable and unpredictable conditions and just as unpredictable was this race.

Already in the formation lap we had the first crash out. Rookie Hadjar spun in the rainy conditions and had to retire the car.

After a short break another formation lap took place and finally the race started.

At first it looked good and no one seemed endangered and Verstappen catapulted himself to p2, however in corner 5 another Rookie, Jack Doohan, crashed out and in the last corner Carlos Sainz as well, causing another safety car.

The restart in lap 7 went smoothly and nothing exciting happened until lap 17, when Oscar Piastri secured himself p2 again by overtaking Max Verstappen. The McLaren 1-2 then chased each other down until lap 30 when they were told to keep positions.

Only 4 laps later we had the next safety car, when Alonso crashed out and everyone took the chance to box and change to slicks.

When we hit lap 45 things really turned upside down. A heavy rain shower was announced and everyone was unsure of what to do. Due to the slippery track Piastri took to the gravel and then spun into the grass, however managed to get himself free, boxed and managed to continue the race. At the same time Norris went to pit for intermediates followed by Verstappen one lap later. In the following lap, lap 47, both Bortoletto and Lawson also crashed out, causing yet another safety car and the entire grid to be completely mixed up.

6 laps to the end the final restart took place and Norris led well ahead. In laps 54-55 Leclerc, Hamilton and Piastri overtook Gasly and in lap 56 the rookie Kimi Antonelli, who started on 16, overtook Albon securing him p4. He is widely considered one of the winners, having gained over 10 positions, in his first ever turbulent formula one race and being one of the only rookies to even bring it home.

The real winner was not sure until the last second because Verstappen fought hard to overtake Norris and secure himself 1st place, did however not manage to do so.

Lando Norris took the 2025 seasons first win, followed by Verstappen in p2 and Russell in p3. Antonelli ended in p4, Albon in p5, followed by Stroll (p6), Hulkenberg (p7), Leclerc (p8), Piastri (p9) and Hamilton (p10).

As exciting as this race was, it was only the first out of 24 and we can all look forward to a season filled with nerve-wrecking, amazing racing.