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The season-opener at Melbourne’s Albert Park was a fast, edgy, nervy and an action-packed Grand Prix. It was in some ways just thrilling start to a brand new season that fans eagerly anticipate and relish in the end.
Surely McLaren topped the game and Red Bull persisted at the back of Verstappen’s Herculean effort but there were several disappointments out there as well such as a low key result for both Ferrari drivers and the titan of F1 racing, Fernando Alonso.
Having said that, which moment stood out thereby making the 2025 Australian Grand Prix a memorable one? Look nowhere else for SportsTiger have that covered for you.
Norris proves his mettle
In some ways, it might be apt and fair to say that in Melbourne, Lando Norris took over from where he left last season. He was the winner of the 2024 Abu Dhabi and he emerged the winner of the opening bout of 2025, the brand new Formula 1 season.
But while winning a Formula 1 Grand Prix is one thing, beating the likes of four-time world champion Verstappen in doing so is something quite different. The latter is where Lando Norris particularly excelled as under immensely hard-to-drive conditions thanks to ceaseless rains, he could still find a way to keep the front of his McLaren ahead of the fast-catching and seemingly threatening Red Bull.
Make no mistake that at the end of lap 45, it wasn’t Norris out in the lead but Verstappen. And yet, Norris channelised the fighter within him to put up a commanding drive in the end and thus fuelling further belief that 2025 could well be his and his McLaren’s year.
A dramatic Australian GP
It was Lap 45 where all the drama happened giving for a few minutes a real scare to most of the drivers. As on-track conditions worsened given trenchant rains, drivers began battling from a lack of traction. The worst sufferer of the deteriorating conditions was Oscar Piastri. The youngster was in second when he spun under what were treacherous race conditions.
Resultantly, he fell down to the rear of the grid and with it, having to do a lot of work to climb back into the points position. Meanwhile, when that was happening, Verstappen took the lead from third and Norris pitted for inters, coming out in sixth.
The experienced McLaren driver had his own share fair of work to do. However, in the end, the local hero Piastri contesting in his home race, was able to as much as a P9, a respectable finish in the end including a brave move around Alpine’s Pierre Gasly to assert his presence.
Nothing smooth for the Smooth Operator Sainz
Carlos Sainz made big headlines when he topped the time sheets during a session in the pre-season testing. It was clear from that point onward that the Spaniard didn’t arrive at Williams to be a lame pushover; he meant serious business.
He further indicated flashes of his FW47’s pace when he scored the second best time in a free practice session out there in Melbourne. However, under dangerously wet conditions, Sainz suffered the hard luck of sliding into the barriers at a tricky corner finding it very hard to keep all wheels on the racing track.
He would, therefore, sadly retire and score no points whatsoever in his otherwise highly-anticipated Williams debut.
One race - several DNF’s
The opening round of the 2025 Formula 1 season wasn’t a great race for not just one but several drivers out there including the very experienced Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz and ditto for some of the younger drivers out there such as- Liam Lawson, and the trinity of debutants Hadjar, Jack Doohan, and Gabriel Bortoleto.
Probably it’s the high risk and demanding conditions of Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit or the incessant rains particularly in the closing stages of the race or maybe, a combination of both that made driving that extra bit hard.
In the end, only fifteen cars finished the 57-lap action-packed drama when twenty had participated in the Grand Prix.
You could say tough luck to F1 first-timers.
