The Ferrari team faced a major disappointment at the Australian GP. However, it was a different story for Lando Norris and the Mercedes drivers, who had a strong finish to their weekend. The excellent debut by Antonelli contrasts with the disastrous performances of other rookies. Let’s take a look back at all the key moments from this race.
Before the start, let’s recap the top 10 grid formation. The front row was occupied by the two McLaren drivers, followed by Max Verstappen. Joining Max on the second row was George Russell, while the third row featured Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon. Behind them were Chares Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, both of whom had a disappointing qualifying session. In the fifth row, Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz with his Williams completed the lineup. Below is the summary of the Australian GP.
1 – 20
Weather conditions were the main story on race day. The rain had cleared Melbourne before the race began, but the still-wet track started claiming victims right from the formation lap. Hadjar was one of the first, losing control of his car in Turn 1 and crashing into the barriers, leading to the race start being aborted as drivers returned to the grid.
Max Verstappen got off to a strong start, moving up to second position. Charles Leclerc also made progress, moving from 7th to 5th. The race was quickly neutralized following an incident that ended Jack Doohan’s race. The conditions remained difficult, and during the Safety Car period, Carlos Sainz also crashed into the barriers.
As the Safety Car conditions improved, the track began to dry, and it seemed the rain would ease off. Upon the restart, Leclerc struggled to keep up with the leading group, while Piastri applied pressure on Verstappen but could not overtake.
Kimi Antonelli had a scare when he went onto the grass and lost control, ending up in the gravel trap. This caused him to lose the position he had gained by overtaking Hulkenberg. Up ahead, the top three started improving lap by lap without challenging each other. Among them, Oscar Piastri had the upper hand, benefiting from a lock-up by Verstappen to move into second position.
21 – 40
Light rain began falling on the track, and Ferrari entered a strong phase. Charles Leclerc set some of his fastest laps, while further back, Lewis Hamilton closed in on Alexander Albon.
Up front, the McLaren duo posted a series of fast laps, building a 14-second lead over Verstappen. After some laps where he lost time, Piastri closed back in on Norris. The team told the Australian not to attack, but soon after, Piastri made a mistake and fell behind.
In lap 34, a twist occurred: Fernando Alonso crashed and had to retire. The arrival of the Safety Car triggered a series of pit stops, with most drivers opting for dry tires. Verstappen, Tsunoda, Albon, Hulkenberg, Bortoleto, and Lawson chose the soft compound.
41 – 58
The race restarted without any major surprises, but with one big question: would it rain again? The answer came shortly after, as the rain returned to Melbourne.
The first drops led to chaos, as the McLarens both went wide in the final sector. After a series of pit stops and a McLaren disaster, the top positions were: Verstappen, Hamilton, Gasly, Tsunoda, and Leclerc, who decided not to stop.
On the next lap, Max switched to wet tires, while the Ferraris stayed out. Another twist came when Liam Lawson crashed, causing another Safety Car. Both Ferraris pitted for wet tires, but the move backfired, as Hamilton and Leclerc emerged in 9th and 10th positions.
With six laps to go, the race resumed with little change. The top 10 after the restart were: Norris, Verstappen, Russell, Albon, Antonelli, Stroll, Hulkenberg, Gasly, Leclerc, and Hamilton. The two Ferraris benefited from a mistake by Pierre Gasly and moved up one position.
Up front, the battle continued fiercely: Lando Norris went wide, and Max Verstappen closed in. The Dutchman chased the McLaren until the very end but couldn’t quite make it, settling for second place.
Not far behind, Kimi Antonelli put in a spectacular debut performance. In the final laps, he managed to overtake Albon, although a five-second penalty for unsafe release condemned the Italian to fifth place.
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