Australian GP: 'Spectacular' Lando Norris win and Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari debut assessed by Martin Brundle

That was a wonderful and reassuring start to the 2025 F1 season. We've had great expectations for a competitive and engaging season, giving it plenty of hype in advance, and it appears we are not going to be disappointed.

Lando Norris and McLaren had a truly outstanding event all round. In qualifying both he and team-mate Oscar Piastri had fluffed the first run in the top-ten shootout final stage, but then both delivered spectacular laps under pressure in the final seconds to lock out the front row, with Norris edging pole position. Despite the challenges and chaos to follow on race day, that eight-metre head start on the grid would be pivotal for Lando.

Race day was long scheduled to be wet, but the volume of water expected was inconsistent among teams. The coastal location doesn't help, and heavy rain and gusty conditions disrupted the supporting races and ensured a wet track to start the Grand Prix.

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Melbourne always has a minute-by-minute schedule with constant and relentless track action from Thursday onwards. This means that much racing rubber is laid down onto a track surface used but once a year, which was then baked by high temperatures and sunshine. When water falls on top of that, along with the copious painted lines of this otherwise year-round public park, the resultant low grip can feel like ice.

And so, the scene was set for a challenging race and even before the start we saw cars sliding off going to the grid, and then a distraught Isack Hadjar spinning his Racing Bull into the barriers on the formation lap and retiring on the spot.

The resultant aborted start couldn't have helped the frayed nerves on the grid or in the pit lane. Away from the eventual start Norris just held onto the lead, the slightly slower of the top three away, but his hard-earned pole position kept him in the lead and in command.

Piastri held off the fast-starting Max Verstappen into turn one but both McLarens slewed wildly on the exit under power and Verstappen was through to second. On the first racing lap Jack Doohan was caught out by the white lines under acceleration and gear shifting and was in the barriers.

A safety car was required and, during this Carlos Sainz, spun off his Williams simply minding his own business while gently accelerating and part-throttle shifting, making yet another retirement in the barriers without a full-speed racing lap completed.

When we finally got racing it soon became a three-horse race out front between the two McLaren bandits and Verstappen. The pressure was intense in the extreme, but Norris stayed remarkably calm on the start, the many restarts after safety cars, and with his mirrors either full of his team-mate Piastri, or Verstappen, or both.

'My buttocks were clenched!'

I realised part way through the race that, despite only talking about it in a dry commentary box, I was nervous. I had a knot in my stomach, I was tense, and apologies for spoiling your day, but my buttocks were clenched.

I know the feeling so well when you're in a race and you're fully aware that every turn of the wheel or press of a pedal can mean a crash at any time. In the middle of the night at Le Mans doing 220mph and coming across a sudden rain shower in the dark on slick tyres immediately springs into my mind writing this.

Those that managed to stay the course should all be applauded; it was such a challenge. Even the great and wise Fernando Alonso was mugged by the emulsion of water, gravel and painted kerb, meaning a heavy trip into the wall in his Aston Martin.

Then many radio calls were heard advising drivers that a short burst of heavy rain may, or may not quite, hit the circuit. When it did, all hell broke loose. Both McLarens sailed off the track and through the grass and gravel, Norris just about keeping it together and pitting for intermediate tyres, albeit having damaged the aerodynamic underbody to an extent.

Piastri went further off, kept more speed, and on arrival into the next tight left-hand hairpin simply slid off onto more wet grass. He would eventually coax it out of there in reverse gear but would lose a lap. A great shame as he was every bit in contention for a victory as Norris.

Red Bull elected to keep Verstappen out in the hope that the rain shower was short and sharp. At the time they had little to lose, but electing to do the same thing on the next lap was a gamble too far in terms of trying to snatch the lead while the rain kept coming.

Now though it was a two-horse race to the finish on fresh intermediate tyres - in the sunshine, can you believe - between last year's two championship protagonists Norris and Verstappen.

Norris had been very fast on each restart and did so again. But dipping a tyre in the gravel on the infamous turn six lost him time and Verstappen was on his tail with powerful DRS open rear wings now available. With very calm and sage advice from his engineer Will Joseph on the pit wall, Lando didn't buckle in the slightest, and took a spectacular victory, effectively winning back-to-back races after his victory in Abu Dhabi late last year. He leads the world championship for the first time, and it's the first time in 1029 days that anyone other than Max has led.

Max drove a sublime race too, but the reality is that even in marginal conditions, or if it had been dry, without the intervention of safety cars the race would likely have been dominated by the McLaren duo.

George Russell was just out of the picture all day but finished a fine third for Mercedes, and the first of likely many podiums this year. They'll need to find some speed to catch McLaren though.

His teenage team-mate Kimi Antonelli drove a spectacularly mature first GP. Despite a quick spin in turn four he made some great overtakes, kept moving forward at a solid race pace - often matching Russell - and despite a five-second unsafe pit stop release penalty which was later rescinded, he finished fourth. Mercedes have another star on their hands and jointly lead the team championship with McLaren.

It's irrelevant of course, but both Mercs pitted very timely and calmly for the final time on lap 44.

'Disappointing start for Hamilton'

And on that subject, despite lots of happy words, and reasons why he had to learn his steering wheel and other new aspects, Lewis Hamilton had a disappointing start to his Ferrari career by any metric.

Eighth on the grid behind his team-mate Leclerc, losing out a little in the first corner and following Alex Albon's Williams for what seemed like an age, and then being passed around the outside of the fast turn nine by a spectacularly recovering Piastri on the final lap - consigning Lewis to one point in 10th place - was not where he should be.

I don't understand why Lewis was so angsty with his engineer Riccardo Adami, who I felt was simply trying to pass over relevant and helpful information. It all really fell apart for Ferrari when they rolled the dice on dry tyres on a wet track and lost out heavily on track position for both drivers, and they left Australia seventh in the championship.

There were just 14 finishers, and in fifth place was Alex Albon, who put in a great performance for Williams all weekend, in a team and driver line-up heading for a fine season.

In sixth place was Lance Stroll sealing some valuable points for Aston Martin in a car which looks well off the leading pace for now. We've seen Lance perform very well in wet conditions before and this was no different. Worth remembering for those who easily write him off because his dad owns the team.

Nico Hulkenberg clearly heeded my deep and detailed advice on the grid as to how to approach the race, scoring some much-needed points for the Sauber team. Another survivor on the day, and he was first Ferrari-engined car home, 1.4 seconds ahead of Leclerc.

Liam Lawson of Red Bull, in particular, will be very happy that we head immediately into another race week so that he can hopefully park the misery and errors he endured in Melbourne and put them right. That team doesn't do cuddles and reassuring words, and nor should they at this level. P45s are more their thing if you can't keep Verstappen at least in view from time to time.

Norris has significantly moved his mental and driving game on, and an immediate 23-point advantage over Piastri may prove very significant, too. We wait to see his performance in the inevitable wheel-to-wheel combat with both Piastri and Verstappen. Stay tuned.

The F1 circus heads straight to Shanghai this week for the first Sprint weekend of the season at the Chinese GP, with coverage starting on Friday live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - No contract, cancel anytime

(c) Sky Sports 2025: Australian GP: 'Spectacular' Lando Norris win and Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari debut assessed by Martin Brundle