Max Verstappen points out Lando Norris error in F1 Australian GP cooldown room

Max Verstappen told Lando Norris about an error which might have changed the F1 Australian Grand Prix result.

McLaren’s Norris held off Red Bull’s Verstappen to win in Melbourne at the 2025 season-opener.

Norris’ comfortable lead was trimmed to a nervy 0.6s for the final two laps with his old rival Verstappen behind him, but he did enough to win by 0.895s.

Norris and Verstappen discussed in the cooldown room afterwards a brief moment which could have turned the tide.

“You had a big run on me when I messed up in [Turn] 6,” Norris said.

Verstappen replied: “Yeah, honestly you were only [a small amount] to the left. It was not even, like, a lot.”

Norris appeared surprised: “Really?”

Verstappen told Norris: “Yeah, you weren’t really wide.”

Norris said: “You had DRS with inters.”

Verstappen said, referring to the run after Norris’ minor mistake: “That run I didn’t have DRS.”

Norris said: “No, but then the next lap.”

Verstappen said: “Yes, it was big. It was big.”

Max Verstappen beaten by Lando Norris at F1 Australian Grand Prix

Norris secured his fifth F1 grand prix win in Australia and justified the hype surrounding McLaren entering the new season.

Expected to have the fastest car, they only missed out on a one-two finish because Oscar Piastri spun in the wet conditions.

But Norris’ early win is a reminder that he is a key threat to Verstappen’s hope of a fifth consecutive drivers’ title.

Verstappen reflected: “It was a difficult race but at the end it was fun.

“Lando had a little moment on entry of 6, so he lost a lot of momentum there and that is why I got close and I got the DRS.

“I got close but it's very hard to pass around here.

“But it was fun those last laps, pushing at least when you are fighting for the win. But I'm just very happy to bring it home, score good points, and this is a decent starting point for us."

Verstappen said about his RB21’s competitiveness: "It is where I expected to be.

“You could see in that first stint that we were lacking a little bit of pace compared to the McLaren, but it's still 18 points more than I had here last year, so I take that.”

After Piastri’s spin, Verstappen stayed out on slick tyres when most drivers were pitting for intermediates.

He explained: “[The McLarens] went off and I think it was a panic 'Oh, I need to box'. So when they came in, I stayed out.

“The first lap, honestly, I think it was alright but then unfortunately, the weather continued a bit more on the other side of the track and we then had to box.

“But I think at the end of the day, even if we had to box one lap earlier, we would have still been P2 anyway after that stop.

"I think it was worth the gamble. It was quite spicy with the slick tyres, but it was alright at the end."

McLaren also dealt an early blow to Red Bull in the constructors’ championship which they are defending.

Piastri recovered to a P9 finish while Red Bull’s new driver Liam Lawson was one of six drivers to crash out of the grand prix.