F1 news: McLaren star Lando Norris weathers the storm in Melbourne
With six drivers crashing out of the season opener within the first few laps, the 2025 Australian Grand Prix lived up to its expectations.
The wet circuit seemed to be the root of all evil for many drivers, but the battle between Red Bull and McLaren was in full force.
Here, Sports News Blitz writer Harrison Pearce explores how McLaren have picked up from where they left off from last year.
McLaren’s professional performance
As McLaren locked out the front row, they had a great benchmark to go on and win the race.
Lando Norris was in cruise control for most of the race, where he capitalised on other drivers not being able to handle the wet conditions in Melbourne.
This was a factor aimed towards Norris last year for not handling wet conditions correctly in the Canadian, British, and Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
He was on the verge of winning each of these three races, but errors on his side let the victories slip away from him.
Had it not been for those errors, the Brit would have probably had a better chance of claiming the 2024 Drivers’ Championship title.
However, this time around, you couldn’t have asked for a better start for McLaren who made the right decisions in the crucial moments during the race.
Norris’ triumph marks the first time McLaren have won the opening race of the season since 2012.
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Oscar Piastri crashing
Melbourne-born Oscar Piastri impressed on home soil after spending three-quarters of the race in the top three on the grid.
At one stage of the race, it was looking like McLaren were taking home a one-two finish.
This was until an unexpected spin-out from driving in rubble and grass, saw the Australian driver drop down to P15 with 11 laps to go.
But just as he had displayed great pace throughout the race, Piastri recovered well and crossed the finish line in P9.
After signing a multi-year deal which will see Piastri through until 2026, McLaren are looking very competitive to compete for the Constructors’ Championship once again.
Late push by Ferrari
New driving duo on the grid Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will always be looking to fight for the Constructors’ Championship as well.
In this race, we saw both spectrums of how Ferrari’s season might turn out.
After a disappointing start to the race, it always felt like Leclerc was playing catch-up the whole time.
It was only after Piastri crashed out that Hamilton took the opportunity to overtake and take the lead in the race monetarily.
After a poor strategy call, Ferrari finished the race in P8 and P10 - an ultimately deserved result as they had not risen to the occasion like McLaren or Red Bull did.
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McLaren vs Red Bull
Fans couldn’t have asked for much more going into the opening race because both McLaren and Red Bull picked up where they left off.
After Verstappen qualified third on the grid, it was expected that it would be difficult for him to compete with McLaren from the get-go.
As we saw, it took Piastri to crash until the four-time world Champion was able to challenge Norris for the win.
The closing moments of the race saw Verstappen close the gap to just under one second, but the McLaren driver did enough to claim victory.
Norris was the worthy winner after being comfortable for most of the race. He has also taken home valuable points in the Constructors’ Championship.
As McLaren came out on top in the opening race of the season, with both their drivers scoring points, Red Bull lost out as rookie Liam Lawson had a DNF (did not finish).
You would have to wonder whether McLaren have the edge over Red Bull in the race for the Constructors’ Championship as they will be looking to do a two-peat for the title.
There is an argument to be made that they have a more balanced driver duo, allowing McLaren to capitalise on Red Bull’s weaknesses.
