Five winners and five losers from the F1 Australian Grand Prix

F1 2025 kicked off in hugely entertaining fashion with an action-packed, chaotic season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

The Melbourne opener featured on-off rain and was punctuated by numerous crashes, three Safety Car periods and some hugely impressive driving from those at the front of the field.

Here are our winners and losers from a dramatic grand prix at Albert Park.

Winner - Lando Norris

Lando Norris produced a masterful performance in treacherous conditions and held his nerve to beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to the first victory of the 2025 season.

Norris, together with his McLaren team, crucially made the right calls at the right time in changing conditions to convert pole position into the win, having impressively held off a late attack from charging four-time world champion Verstappen, who excels in such conditions.

This was a statement drive from Norris, who has taken the lead of the world championship for the first time in his F1 career in a season he wants to end with a maiden world title.

Loser - Ferrari

For a brief moment, Ferrari were looking at a potential double podium, with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton even leading on Lap 46. But any thoughts of a dream debut were quickly dashed when it became apparent Ferrari had made the wrong decision to stay out on slick tyres just as heavy rain hit.

The entire field changed onto slicks as the track dried out, but while other teams pitted to go back onto wets - anticipating a forecast heavy shower - Ferrari opted to take a risk by keeping both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc out.

Ferrari underestimated how much water would be on track, forcing Hamilton and Leclerc to pit under the final Safety Car after their rivals had made the switch, meaning they dropped to the bottom of the top-10. Leclerc would finish eighth, with Hamilton 10th on what turned out to be a hugely disappointing start to 2025.

Winner - Max Verstappen

If you told Verstappen he would have finished second before the weekend started, he would have bitten your hand off, having arrived in Australia ruling Red Bull out of contention for victory.

After a tough Friday, Red Bull completed an impressive overnight turnaround as Verstappen took a surprise third on the grid in qualifying. The Dutchman ran second in the early stages after jumping Oscar Piastri on the first lap, but a rare mistake enabled the McLaren driver to reclaim the position soon after.

It looked as though Verstappen would have to settle for a distant third until the late heavy shower caused chaos, bringing him right back into contention. Having taken full advantage of Piastri’s error, Verstappen moved into second and hounded Norris all the way to the flag, securing a result he would have considered unlikely.

Loser - Oscar Piastri

What could have been for Piastri. The home favourite drove brilliantly all weekend and appeared destined for a strong P2, after briefly looking to even challenge teammate Norris for the win.

However, it wasn’t to be. Still on slick tyres as fresh heavy rain struck amid the chaotic final 15 laps, Piastri slid off track in the final sector but managed to recover, only to then spin off into the grass at the penultimate corner.

Piastri dropped to the rear of the field but was still able to fight back to ninth, including pulling off a stunning last lap overtake on Hamilton’s Ferrari. Piastri’s costly mistake is an early blow to his own title aspirations.

Winner - Mercedes

It turned out to be a pretty great day for Mercedes, with a bold strategy call from George Russell helping him secure a somewhat unexpected podium finish in a race he described as being all about “survival”.

What’s more, Mercedes successfully got a penalty which had dropped Kimi Antonelli to fifth overturned. With his original P4 finishing position restored, Mercedes sit second in the championship, level on points with McLaren.

For Antonelli, it was a strong charge through the field from 16th on the grid, capping off a fine F1 debut for the highly-rated 18-year-old as he bounced back from a tough qualifying in style.

Loser - F1’s crashing rookies

Changing weather conditions wrecked havoc at Albert Park, with four of F1’s six rookies falling victim to the on-off rain in a race which proved to be a baptism of fire for the majority of the 2025 rookie crop.

It all went wrong for Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar before the race even got underway, with last year’s Formula 2 runner up spinning off into the wall on the formation lap. The Frenchman was left in tears over his big mistake which prevented him from making his first official start in F1.

Jack Doohan’s participation in his home race was also short-lived, as he lost control and slammed into the barriers on the first lap. It was not what he needed given the pressure he is faces with Franco Colapinto waiting in the wings to take his Alpine seat.

Reigning F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto fared better and was having a respectable grand prix debut until he came a cropper at Turn 13 and smashed into the barriers, though the accident may have been influenced by a car failure. While not strictly a rookie, Liam Lawson became the sixth driver to retire when he crashed his Red Bull at Turn 2.

Winner - Alex Albon

One of the big winners who capitalised on the chaos was Alex Albon, who kept his Williams pointing in the right direction throughout to secure the team’s best finish over a full-grand prix distance since 2017.

Albon had already qualified a brilliant sixth, and converted that excellent starting position into a huge haul of valuable points for his Williams team by finishing fifth (which had been P4 before Antonelli’s penalty was removed).

Carlos Sainz’s crash may have put a dampener on an otherwise fantastic weekend for Williams, but the Spaniard made amends by turning strategist to help his new team make a well-timed switch to intermediates, a decision which proved pivotal for Albon.

Loser - Racing Bulls

What a difference 24 hours can make. Yuki Tsunoda was the star of qualifying after producing a truly stunning lap to grab fifth place on the grid.

But things went south on Sunday. Tsunoda drove brilliantly and held sixth for much of the race, but all of his good work was undone by a strategic gamble. Like Ferrari, Racing Bulls stayed out on slicks for too long, which meant Tsunoda dropped way down the order when he finally switched onto intermediates.

The risk did not pay off and Racing Bulls blew a huge opportunity to score big points despite only having one car in the grand prix after Hadjar’s shunt.

Winner - Nico Hulkenberg and Sauber

Despite heading into the season with what many expected to be the slowest car on the grid, Sauber were left celebrating what turned out to be a dream start in Australia.

Nico Hulkenberg’s vast experience shone through as he jumped into the top 10 by switching onto intermediates at the right time. The German veteran beat both Ferraris and Piastri to seventh, collecting six valuable points which surpassed Sauber’s total from the entirety of 2024.

What’s more, Bortoleto showed plenty of promise on his debut grand prix weekend. His crash was only a slight blip on an otherwise promising start to his F1 career.

Loser - Alpine

Alpine will be hugely disappointed to come away from Melbourne empty-handed. 

The French squad were tipped as one of the biggest improvers over the winter and expect to be fighting towards the front of the midfield pack having turned the page on a difficult season last term.

Pierre Gasly had been on course for points until he slipped out of the top-10 when he struggled to keep his Alpine on track when late rain hit. Doohan’s first-lap crash left Alpine relying on Gasly as their sole hope for a solid result, which didn’t come.