By Kwame Bediako
Lando Norris held off a charging Max Verstappen to win the Australian Grand Prix, the first race of the 2025 Formula One season, on Sunday, March 16. The McLaren driver dominated the majority of the 58-lap race, but a late rain shower brought Verstappen back into contention. Despite the Dutchman’s best efforts, Norris successfully defended his lead to claim a thrilling victory.
The Australian Grand Prix was an incident-packed affair, with an aborted start, crashes, three safety cars and on-off rain showers keeping drivers and teams on their toes. Norris and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri had dominated qualifying, and that form translated into the race, with Norris holding the lead for most of the laps. However, when the rain began to fall in the latter stages, Piastri slid off the track, allowing Verstappen to close in.
Verstappen, who had led early on before a mistake saw him drop back, got in front as the weather changed, but a pit stop gave Norris the chance to regain his lead. Norris then successfully held onto his lead despite Verstappen’s best efforts, crossing the line first to claim a memorable victory. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, a result that had looked unlikely, while Lewis Hamilton finished 10th on his Ferrari debut.
Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli staged a brilliant recovery drive to go from 16th to a fourth-place finish. He was initially demoted a place for an unsafe release in the pits, but the penalty was later overturned on appeal. Home favourite Piastri recovered to finish ninth, while Charles Leclerc and Hamilton finished seventh and 10th, respectively, for Ferrari.
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