lights out and away we go A tough race for the rookies as F1 starts 2025 in Australia F1 teams show us who's fast and who's not at the start of the 2025 season. Jonathan M. Gitlin Mar 17, 2025 11:45 am | 14 A pair of McLarens out front in Australia. Credit: Clive Mason/Getty Images A pair of McLarens out front in Australia. Credit: Clive Mason/Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreFormula 1's four-wheeled circus got underway this past weekend in Melbourne, Australia. Held on the roads around a lake in Albert Park, the track is one of F1's trickier challenges, made more so on Sunday thanks to rain that eased off before the start of the race, only to return with a vengeance a dozen or so laps before the end. It proved to be a tough day for four of the sport's six new drivers, as well as some more well-known names, and it gave us a clearer idea of the pecking order between the teams, at least for now.True F1 junkies were probably following the preseason test earlier this month in Bahrain, as the sport now helpfully shows those three days of running on its streaming platform. But those devoted enough to watch the cars circulate for hours with nothing on the line also know you shouldn't read too much into a preseason test, especially one held at a circuit that is unrepresentative of most of the others that F1 visitsand in unseasonably cold weather, to boot.Little has changed in the way of the technical regulations between the end of last year and the start of this one, other than an increasing scrutiny on the front and rear wings' ability to flex when they're not supposed to. Flexing or deflecting under load at opportune times reduces the drag and allows a car to go a little faster in a straight line for the same amount of power, giving that car an unfair advantage.It looked as if McLaren would be starting the season off with the fastest car and that both Williams and Alpine tested well, but with no way to know how heavy or light any of the cars were running, it was less clear how to sort the field properly.Lando winsMcLaren's Lando Norris qualified on pole position for the race, then held his nerve through a delayed start, three safety car restarts, and the pressure of being chased by his very fast teammate, Oscar Piastriin an identically fast car, rememberand reigning world champion Max Verstappen, who needed every ounce of his considerable skill to keep up in his Red Bull, at least at first.Piastri's dream of becoming the first Australian driver to win the Australian Grand Prix looked possible at one point as he got within 0.6 seconds of Norris. But the McLaren team told both drivers to hold station for several laps as they approached traffic, blunting Piastri's charge. Things got worse for the young driver when the rain returned on lap 44, and he spun, ending up at the back of the pack. He eventually finished ninth, rescuing a couple of points and putting a wonderful overtake on Lewis Hamilton right at the end.Verstappen became Norris' main threat again for the last few laps. A third safety car period brought the pack together, then ended with six laps remaining. And as they closed in on the checkered flag, Norris made a mistake at turn 6, allowing Verstappen to close to within a second, but the McLaren driver held his nerve and took the victory. A perfectly timed pit stop was a key moment in winning the race. Credit: Clive Rose/Getty Images Who else did well?The Mercedes team will have considered this weekend to be a good one. Never as quick as the McLaren or Red Bull, lead Mercedes driver George Russell drove home to a rather anonymous third place and was followed by his new teammate Kimi Antonelli. The 18-year-old Italian has replaced Lewis Hamilton at the Mercedes team and charged from a mediocre qualifying position to finish fourth.Williams' Alex Albon scored a fine fifth for the storied team. The preseason vibes for Williams were correctafter a few years of being one ofif not theslowest, it now looks to be leading the midfield. And Racing Bull's Yuki Tsunoda demonstrated that he probably should have been promoted to the Red Bull team with a fine 5th place in qualifying that sadly did not translate to points in the race.The Sauber team, which becomes Audi next year, appeared dreadful in Bahrain but arrived in Oz with some new bodywork, including a revised front wing. That helped Nico Hulkenberg finish seventh, scoring more points in the process than the Swiss-based team managed across all 24 races last year. Albon drove a great race to fifth place. Credit: James Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images Better luck in ChinaIt was a much harder day for some, including most of the rookies. Racing Bull's new driver, Isack Hadjar, was caught out on the formation lap by differing grip conditions between the asphalt and painted lines on what are public roads for most of the year. Cleaning up the crash delayed the start by 15 minutes as a distraught Hadjar made his way back to the pits to watch the race unfold without him. After he barely lost out on the F2 title at the end of last year when his car stalled at the start, one hopes he can put his last couple of races behind him.Alpine's Jack Doohan, Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto (who beat Hadjar to the F2 championship last year), and Red Bull's Liam Lawson (who sort of still counts as a rookie) also each ended their days prematurely after crashing out, but so too did former world champion Fernando Alonso and last year's race winner Carlos Sainz. That two such experienced drivers also got caught out should bring some comfort to the four youngsters.It was also a rough start to Lewis Hamilton's tenure at Ferrari. The seven-time world champion and his new race engineer were developing their working relationship in real time, and Hamilton bristled at the constant suggestions from the pit wall. It was an underwhelming day in general for Ferrari, which only finished 8th (Leclerc) and 10th (Hamilton). Isack Hadjar crashed out of the Australian Grand Prix before it even happened. Kym Illman/Getty Images Isack Hadjar crashed out of the Australian Grand Prix before it even happened. Kym Illman/Getty Images Carlos Sainz's debut for Williams did not go smoothly, as he ended in the wall, too. Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images Carlos Sainz's debut for Williams did not go smoothly, as he ended in the wall, too. Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images Jack Doohan was similarly caught out by the slippery track. James Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images Jack Doohan was similarly caught out by the slippery track. James Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images Carlos Sainz's debut for Williams did not go smoothly, as he ended in the wall, too. Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images Jack Doohan was similarly caught out by the slippery track. James Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images Even the mighty Fernando Alonso was in trouble in Melbourne. Clive Mason/Getty Images Liam Lawson did not do much to dispel the idea that Yuki Tsunoda should have been promoted to Red Bull. James Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images The safety car got quite a few laps in this weekend. Clive Mason/Getty Images Lewis says he and the team have work to do after this weekend. Mario Renzi - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images This lot was busy. Clive Mason/Getty Images A much more confident Lando Norris. Clive Rose/Getty Images The sport returns next weekend in China.Jonathan M. GitlinAutomotive EditorJonathan M. GitlinAutomotive Editor Jonathan is the Automotive Editor at Ars Technica. He has a BSc and PhD in Pharmacology. In 2014 he decided to indulge his lifelong passion for the car by leaving the National Human Genome Research Institute and launching Ars Technica's automotive coverage. He lives in Washington, DC. 14 Comments