Randorris launched its 2025 title campaign ahead of champion Max Barstappen on an unpredictable rainy afternoon at the Australian Grand Prix.
Paul Getter survived a battle with teammate Oscar Piastri and traveled through gravel on Turn 12 to lead the field in the afternoon’s third safety car reboot, setting up a high stakes sprint for the victory ahead of Verstappen on five laps.
The Dutch arrived within a second of their leaders in the final three laps, but the McLaren man refused to break and held him down by just 0.895.
“It was amazing,” he said. “The tough race with Max behind me.
“The last two laps were a bit stressful. I don’t lie, it’s a surprising way to McLaren.
The fall sun that was hit the circuit when Norris won the checker flag was in stark contrast to the heavy rain that hit Melbourne’s Albert Park in the time leading up to the race, forcing the abandonment of races in two support categories, but the showers were lined up with drivers lined up on the grid, but the
Isack Hadjar was the first victim, crashing into a barrier on Turn 1 of the Formation Rap, breaking the rear wing and breaking out of what should be his maiden’s grand prix.
The race took place after a 15 minute delay, but was neutralised at the first behind the three safety vehicles when Jacques Doohan lost control of his alpine over painted road markings when he left Turn 5 and hit a wall.
Carlos Signe then found the barrier leaving the final corner despite the attention that was consequent to what the 2024 Australian Grand Prix winner described as a “massive torque surge.”
Six laps to clear the wreckage, Norris led the field cleanly, dodging Verstappen, who jumped Piastri on the first lap, the second of turns 2. The top three kept an equidistant position with a gap of about a second for the opening lap as the driver turned to a slippery circuit.
However, as they did in qualifying, Verstappen’s tires began to distort quickly, and his car wasn’t friendly to Pirelli’s rubber. Piastri was pressured by the rapid turn 9-10 Shane, and Verstappen was too late for Turn 11, sailing deep into the curb standing water, allowing the Australians to sail to second place.
The Dutch quickly complained on the radio that his tires had expired, but Red Bull’s race was reluctant to pit him with rain on the radar. He quickly faded from the lead battle, losing about 1.5 seconds per lap, leaving the McLaren driver to what appears to be an exclusive battle for victory.
Piastri put his foot down and slowly shredded the 2.8-second deficit on lap 28, then entered the DRS on lap 28.
“I mean, I’m faster, but I get it,” he went back to the radio. At first he held himself within DRS range, but a deep running mistake on turn 6 opened the gap back to 2.5 seconds.
Suddenly, McLaren changed his mind. Piastry is allowed to race teammates as long as they follow the rules of the team.
However, the race was once again neutralised before the house favourites could contemplate the counterattack. Fernando Alonso crashed at turn 6, spinning the car on the curb, slipping down the road, slamming it against a barrier, and then getting out of the race. The second safety car was called out quickly, with most fields returning to the dry tire pits.
With 23 laps remaining, Norris repeatedly restarted despite Piastri trying to get him busy in the final sector.
But Melbourne had another twist. With the Dark Cloud gathering at Albert Park, the team unanimously predicted a fierce downpour at any time.
The McLaren driver hit the brakes at 12 turns 12 and arrived in the final sector. They both sailed widely into the gravel, and Norris rejoined the pit lane for intermediate tires, but Piastri slid over the road into the grass and approached the beach. Australia was last rejoined by the time he was able to return to the road.
Suddenly Verstappen went back to the lead and gambled smoothly, but as the rain got stronger he switched to intermediates too, returning to Norris’s back.
Meanwhile, Liam Lawson was dressed in a barrier to leaving Turn 1 in the same incident as Hager’s formation lap crash, when Gabriel Boltrete hit the wall and headed for the last corner. Both were out of the race, and the final safety car was called to clear the track and set up the race for a grandstand finish.
The sun finally emerged from behind the clouds as the race rebooted with five laps left. Norris led Verstappen, George Russell, Alex Albon and Andrea Chimian Tonelli after the safety car returned to the pit lane, and Britton quickly opened his second lead.
The 2024 runner-up was almost completely defensive, but the wobble from turn 6 went to Verstappen and DRS range within seconds, setting the final three laps. However, the dry line was narrow and, except for everything from Norris’ mistakes, Verstappen couldn’t find a way.
George Russell completed the Mercedes podium ahead of his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Italian teenager initially demoted to fifth for an unsafe release and promoted Alex Albon to Williams’ sensational fourth, but that decision was subsequently overturned.
Lance Stroll was sixth in Aston Martin, the last surviving surviving, ahead of Sauber’s Nico Halkenberg and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Piastri recovered to the ninth after surpriseing Lewis Hamilton’s extraordinary movement outside with the first part of the back cycne, the super-fast turn 9.
Pierre Guthrie, Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon and Oliver Baerman completed the finishers.
