Anthony Hamilton explained why he consoled Isack Hadjar following the Racing Bulls driver’s pre-race crash in yesterday’s Australian Grand Prix.
The father of seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton approached the tearful 20-year-old after he crashed during the formation lap.
“I was just trying to give him some encouragement,” Hamilton told Viaplay after the race. “I basically said ‘hold your head up high, man, because you’ve worked since you were eight years of age to get to this position’.
“This is one of the most devastating things, obviously, that can happen to a driver. But there’s more to come and you’ve already shown that you deserve to be here on the grid. So just hold your head up high, hold your shoulders back, and walk tall.”
Hamilton, who played a vital role in developing his son’s racing talent, said he felt the need to comfort the distraught driver.
“It was tough for him,” he said. “But eventually, he lifted his head and he started to walk tall. And he’ll remember that, I hope.
“But it’s one of those moments in time when all parents will, I’m sure, have a feeling for him. He needed a hug and I just felt I needed to do it.”
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Hamilton said Hadjar’s parents “came over and said thank you” afterwards, “which was phenomenal.”
“I just thought now’s a good time to help someone else,” he added.
However Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko was unimpressed with what he saw after his junior driver’s retirement.
“Isack Hadjar did a little bit of crying after his crash,” he told ORF (Oesterreichischer Rundfunk). “That was a bit embarrassing.”
Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies said Hadjar “will learn from this and turn his frustration into good energy for the next race.
“We will be here to support him over the next few days before Shanghai and not let this cloud all the positives we can take from this weekend.”
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After two days of sunshine, the Australian Grand Prix was held in treacherous conditions. How did the field cope? Here are RaceFans’ ratings.
Lando Norris
Qualified: 1st (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.084s) Grid: 1st (1 place ahead of team mate) Start: Held position Strategy: Two-stop (I-H-I) Finished: 1st (+8 places ahead of team mate)
▼ Lost first flying lap in Q3 due to exceeding track limits ▲ Clean and fully committed second lap in Q3 secured pole ▲ Withstood pressure from Verstappen and Piastri throughout race and restarts ▶ Team told Piastri to hold position behind him
8/10: Classy performance in tricky conditions undermined by qualifying wobble and turn 12 excursion
Oscar Piastri
Qualified: 2nd (-1 place behind team mate, +0.084s) Grid: 2nd (1 place behind team mate) Start: -1 place Strategy: Two-stop (I-H-I) Finished: 9th (-8 places behind team mate)
▼ Mistake on first lap in Q3 ▲ Came very close to beating team mate to pole ▶ Team forbade him to attack Norris ▶ Went off when rain hit and became briefly stuck on wet grass ▲ Passed Ocon, Tsunoda, Gasly and – brilliantly – Hamilton to recover ninth
7/10: Was a serious threat to Norris aside from one costly error
Charles Leclerc
After a great Friday, things went downhill for Leclerc
Qualified: 7th (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.218s) Grid: 7th (1 place ahead of team mate) Start: +2 places Strategy: Two-stop (I-H-I) Finished: 8th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
▼ Abandoned final Q3 lap after pushing too hard and making several minor errors ▲ Gained two places at the start from Tsunoda and Albon ▼ Spun off and lost several places ▲ Re-passed Hamilton and Gasly
6/10: Ferrari lost their way on Friday but Leclerc amplified their trouble with errors
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Lewis Hamilton
Qualified: 8th (-1 place behind team mate, +0.218s) Grid: 8th (1 place behind team mate) Start: Held position Strategy: Two-stop (I-H-I) Finished: 10th (-2 places behind team mate)
▼ Spun in Q2 ▶ Decent start but boxed in behind team mate ▶ Cleared of driving more than 10 car lengths behind leading car in Safety Car period due to mitigating circumstances ▼ Stayed out too long on slicks ▲ Picked up a place from Gasly after final restart ▼ Passed by Leclerc and Piastri, falling to 10th
5/10: Logged laps and improved his pace but unfamiliarity excuses will wear off quickly
Max Verstappen
Qualified: 3rd (+15 places ahead of team mate, -1.076s) Grid: 3rd (16 places ahead of team mate) Start: +1 place Strategy: Two-stop (I-M-I) Finished: 2nd
▶ Said he ‘ran out of tyres again in the final sector’ on his last lap in Q3. ▲ Started strongly, passing Piastri ▼ Ran wide at turn 11 when rain returned, then fell back ▶ Briefly led as he tried to avoid switching to intermediates when final shower hit ▶ Was within striking distance of Norris as race ended
8/10: Rapid and combative as ever, Safety Car helped him benefit from Piastri error
Liam Lawson
Lawson had a tough start to life at Red Bull
Qualified: 18th (-15 places behind team mate, +1.076s) Grid: 19th (16 places behind team mate) Start: +3 places Strategy: Two-stop (I-I-M) Finished: Not classified
▶ Stopped in third practice due to a power unit problem ▼ Far from Verstappen’s pace on Friday ▶ Missed final practice with a power unit problem ▼ Error in Q1 led to elimination ▼ Struggled with ‘tyre issues’ early in race and was well off Verstappen’s pace ▲ Passed Ocon ▼ Tried to avoid pitting for intermediates when rain returned in race but crashed out
2/10: Has been saying for months his lack of experience at Albert Park could hurt him, and it did. Needs this to be a one-off
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Qualified: 16th (-12 places behind team mate, +0.554s) Grid: 16th (12 places behind team mate) Start: +3 places Strategy: Two-stop (I-H-I) Finished: 4th (-1 place behind team mate)
▼ Damaged floor on kerb at turn six during Q1 and was eliminated ▼ Spun at turn four but didn’t hit anything ▲ Recovered lost place and more with passes on Hulkenberg and Stroll ▲ Race pace was often a match for Russell’s in clear air ▲ Got the late call to switch back to intermediates spot-on ▲ Passed Albon for fourth ▶ Stewards withdrew erroneous ‘unsafe release’ penalty which originally cost him fourth
7/10: Great raw speed and racecraft, turn four error could have been costlier than it was
George Russell
Qualified: 4th (+12 places ahead of team mate, -0.554s) Grid: 4th (12 places ahead of team mate) Start: Held position Strategy: Two-stop (I-H-I) Finished: 3rd (+1 place ahead of team mate)
▼ Had the pace to beat Verstappen to third on the grid but came fourth ▲ Intentionally conservative approach to the race paid off ▲ Got back onto intermediates as soon as the rain returned late in the race, which secured a podium finish
8/10: Composed and mature performance in the race but there was more in the car on Saturday
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Lance Stroll
Qualified: 13th (-1 place behind team mate, +0.03s) Grid: 13th (1 place behind team mate) Start: +2 places Strategy: Two-stop (I-H-I) Finished: 6th
▼ Out-qualified by Alonso despite his floor damage ▼ Pace dipped badly in laps before switching to slicks ▲ Pitted immediately when final shower hit which lifted him into the points ▲ Stayed out of trouble to score valuable points
6/10: Strategy call looked like a case of ‘failing upwards’ but Stroll again showed his affinity for low-grip conditions
Fernando Alonso
Alonso had strong pace but crashed
Qualified: 12th (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.03s) Grid: 12th (1 place ahead of team mate) Start: +2 places Finished: Not classified
▼ Damaged floor during Q2 and was eliminated ▲ Out-qualified team mate despite broken floor ▶ Cleared of driving more than 10 car lengths behind leading car in Safety Car period due to mitigating circumstances ▲ Far faster than Stroll after lap 28 ▼ Crashed out at the exit of turn on lap 34
4/10: Clearly the quicker of the two Aston Martin drivers but appeared to leave too little margin in qualifying and the race
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Jack Doohan
Qualified: 14th (-5 places behind team mate, +0.751s) Grid: 14th (5 places behind team mate) Start: + places Finished: Not classified
▶ Stopped in the grand prix due to an accident and was not classified ▶ Unable to use DRS at end of final lap in Q2 due to yellow flags for Hamilton’s spin ▼ Crashed out on first lap
3/10: No rookie can afford this kind of error, least of all Doohan
Pierre Gasly
Qualified: 9th (+5 places ahead of team mate, -0.751s) Grid: 9th (5 places ahead of team mate) Start: Held position Strategy: Two-stop (I-H-I) Finished: 11th
▲ Solid qualifying performance netted ninth on grid ▼ Went off at turn one, then lost three places at the end as he struggled with his front-right brake
6/10: Generally solid but a points score slipped away from him at the end
Esteban Ocon
Qualified: 19th Grid: 18th (2 places ahead of team mate) Start: +3 places Strategy: Three-stop (I-I-M-I) Finished: 13th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
▶ Stunned by car’s lack of performance in practice ▶ Gathered vital data for team as the other car hardly ran in practice ▶ Said the car didn’t have the pace to score points, which certainly seemed to be the case
6/10: Kept his cool amid disappointment of discovering Haas’s pace was poor
Oliver Bearman
Grid: 20th (2 places behind team mate) Start: +3 places Strategy: Three-stop (I-I-M-I) Finished: 14th (-1 place behind team mate)
▼ Crashed in first practice, damage meant he missed second session ▼ Spun on second lap of final practice ▶ Stayed out of trouble in the race to reach finish ▲ Race pace looked strong compared to Ocon’s
4/10: Composed race performance redeemed him after an awful start to his weekend
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Isack Hadjar
Qualified: 11th (-6 places behind team mate, +0.166s) Grid: 11th (6 places behind team mate) Finished: Not classified
▶ Strong Q2 lap not quite enough to reach Q3 ▼ Crashed on formation lap
3/10: Looked in good shape through practice but his formation lap error was mortifying
Yuki Tsunoda
Tsunoda didn’t capitalise on his strong qualifying performance
Qualified: 5th (+6 places ahead of team mate, -0.166s) Grid: 5th (6 places ahead of team mate) Start: -1 place Strategy: Two-stop (I-M-I) Finished: 12th
▲ Superb Q3 performance – only non-McLaren driver to combine his three best sectors in one lap ▶ Cleared of driving more than 10 car lengths behind leading car in Safety Car period due to mitigating circumstances ▼ Spun when rain returned ▼ Pitted too late and fell out of points
7/10: Seriously impressive in qualifying but failed to capitalise in the race
Alexander Albon
Qualified: 6th (+4 places ahead of team mate, -0.325s) Grid: 6th (4 places ahead of team mate) Start: -1 place Strategy: Two-stop (I-M-I) Finished: 5th
▶ Revelled in more drive-able and predictable Williams chassis ▲ Q3 lap was almost as impressive as Tsunoda’s (and he didn’t get a tow) ▶ Cleared of driving more than 10 car lengths behind leading car in Safety Car period due to mitigating circumstances
8/10: Unfazed by pressure from Hamilton, secured great result for Williams
Carlos Sainz Jnr
Qualified: 10th (-4 places behind team mate, +0.325s) Grid: 10th (4 places behind team mate) Start: + places Finished: Not classified
▶ Stopped in the grand prix due to an accident and was not classified ▶ A close match for Albon on pace until end of qualifying ▼ Error in turn 13 on first lap in Q3 ▶ Team said they didn’t maximise his track position in Q3 ▼ Crashed at last corner on first lap
4/10: Showed potential in practice but race error was exactly what Williams don’t need after last year
▶ Said he wasn’t fully comfortable in his car in Q1 ▶ Blamed traffic for Q1 elimination ▲ Passed Bortoleto and Antonelli at the start ▶ Made the most of excellent strategy to claim seventh
7/10: Underperformed on Saturday but made his experience count on Sunday
Gabriel Bortoleto
Newcomer Bortoleto was having a decent weekend until he crashed
Qualified: 15th (+2 places ahead of team mate, -0.063s) Grid: 15th (2 places ahead of team mate) Start: +1 place Strategy: Two-stop (I-M-I) Finished: Not classified
▶ Stopped in the grand prix due to an accident and was not classified ▲ Only rookie to out-qualify his team mate ▶ Fell behind Hulkenberg at start ▲ Decent race pace, only 4s behind Hulkenberg by lap 32 before Safety Car reappeared ▶ Safety Car timing compromised his race ▼ Took blame for ‘pushing too hard’ and crashing out on first lap after switching back to intermediates in rain ▼ Received a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release in front of Lawson, which was the team’s fault
4/10: Demonstrated clear potential in practice and the race but crash undid that good work
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McLaren drew criticism from some last year for declining to impose team orders on their drivers when doing so could have helped Lando Norris in the championship.
So their decision to impose team orders during the first race of 2025 was a clear departure from what they’ve done before. It came in the form of a ‘hold position’ order given to both drivers at the mid-point of the race.
McLaren told both drivers to hold their positions when Oscar Piastri caught Norris while he was leading just after half-distance. They gave similar messages to both drivers on lap 29.
The pair were closing on Oliver Bearman, the first driver they would put a lap down, and his team mate Esteban Ocon. As the MCL39s closed on the Haas pair McLaren told their drivers the order to hold position was in place while they “transition to the dry” and “clear the backmarkers”.
Once they lapped the two Haas cars Piastri asked if the order was to be lifted, but was told it remained in force. The next car they had to lap was Liam Lawson’s Red Bull, which was around 10 seconds ahead on lap 30.
On the next lap, Piastri made a mistake at turn six. The next time by McLaren told him the ‘hold position’ order had been lifted. He went off again at turn six on that lap, which dropped him well out of DRS range of his team mate.
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown insisted the pair remained free to race. However he admitted feeling some relief when Piastri ran wide and dropped back from Norris.
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“That was just a ‘hold’ while we were coming up on the lapped traffic just to make sure we can both get through that,” he told Channel 4. “They were free to race.
Piastri went off more than once at turn six
“Actually, once we cleared it, Oscar I think dropped a wheel [into the gravel], which was kind of a bit of a ‘phew, okay, they’re not that close to each other’. They’re free to race, but I knew I was going to bite my nails the rest of the race.”
Soon afterwards, Piastri’s pursuit of Norris was interrupted when Fernando Alonso crashed, triggering a Safety Car period. His race went awry soon after the restart, when more rain fell and he spun off while chasing Norris.
Piastri’s dissatisfaction with the order at the time was easy to understand, particularly given that it wasn’t lifted as soon as they lapped the Haas drivers. Exactly how McLaren believe they fulfilled the “transition to dry” element of the order wasn’t clear.
Would they have invoked the ‘hold position’ order again had Piastri got back within DRS range of Norris? Did they intend to keep turning it on and off like a light switch as they caught and passed backmarkers?
Later races may reveal more about how McLaren choose to implement this novel spin on team orders. And whether they can pull off the tricky balancing act involved when an F1 team has two competitive drivers and a car quick enough to win the world championship.
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Norris and Piastri’s radio messages
The two drivers were given similar ‘hold position’ messages on lap 29.
Lap: 28/58 NOR: 1’29.097, PIA: 1’28.629
Stallard
Cars ahead are Bearman and Ocon, they will get blue flags. Norris and Piastri lap Bearman
Lap: 29/58 NOR: 1’28.357, PIA: 1’28.188
Joseph
Ocon should have the flags. We also need, minor, white default two two again, white default two two again. Don’t worry about Oscar for now, we’re going to clear [pauses] we’re going to clear backmarkers and make the transition. Norris and Piastri lap Ocon
Stallard
Oscar we should hold position please, hold position. Transition to the dry, clear the backmarkers. Next one is Ocon.
Piastri
Okay. I’m faster, but okay.
Lap: 30/58 NOR: 1’28.032, PIA: 1’28.331
Joseph
Lando, rain update. There’s no rain until lap 43 and it possibly might go up after then. How are the tyres?
Piastri
Are we still holding now that we’ve cleared the traffic?
Norris
Yeah, they’re broken. They’re more ‘slicktermediates’ now. I think getting towards that phase, anyway.
Stallard
Yes, hold for now. Let us know your pace.
Piastri
Yeah. Do I [unclear] tell you my pace?
Stallard
Oscar latest is more rain building up, more rain building up. I’ll give you a time in a second.
Lap: 31/58 NOR: 1’27.695, PIA: 1’27.916
Stallard
Currently no rain expected ’til lap 45, but could be heavier rain after that. How’s the track?
Piastri
It’s drying, but we’re going to need another inter if it rains.
Stallard
Verstappen last lap 20 [unclear] to pick up his pace to match you. Piastri runs wide at turn six
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McLaren told Norris the ‘hold position’ order had been lifted two laps after Piastri was notified. It appears other discussions took priority, likely because the threat from Piastri had visibly diminished.
Lap: 32/58 NOR: 1’27.800, PIA: 1’29.379
Joseph
Weather update when ready and I’ve got a race update for you as well.
Piastri
On pit straight Okay Oscar we’re free to race now, free to race, you know the rules. Weather update, lap 43 could be more rain, heavier rain possible No rain until lap 43. Piastri runs wide at turn six again
Lap: 33/58 NOR: 1’27.495, PIA: 1’28.226
Norris
Yes, the tyres, I think are pretty much worn to slicks and if I hit a wet patch I’m fucked.
Okay.
Norris
Any rain and I’m fucked, 100%.
Joseph
Understood. We see the tramlines forming. No rain expected until lap 45, then possible rain, but we’re not sure.
Norris
I don’t think it’s that far away from a slick right now to be honest
Joseph
Okay understood, keep us updated.
Norris
Yeah, I think you definitely get away with a slick.
Lap: 34/58 NOR: 2’02.273, PIA: 2’07.025
Joseph
Okay, gap to Oscar’s 3.4, you are now, both of you are free to race each other, you’re free to race each other. Alonso crashes and the Safety Car is deployed
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Lap 44 was the pivotal moment in the Australian Grand Prix. A sudden shower sparked a flurry of pit stops, and those who reacted immediately cashed in.
Lando Norris was leading when the cloudburst, which teams had long anticipated, began near the end of the lap. He and his pursuing team mate Oscar Piastri went off at turn 12, and while Norris gathered his car up quickly, Piastri skidded onto a patch of sodden, grip-less grass.
Norris didn’t hesitate, peeling off immediately into the pits. Piastri did the same after carefully extricating himself from the run-off area. But Max Verstappen, who had been third, pressed on.
What the remaining drivers did had a significant bearing on the outcome of their races. George Russell pitted from fourth and put himself on course for the podium. Charles Leclerc and Yuki Tsunoda stayed out, the former despite having spun, which cost both the top-six places they had held.
Alexander Albon, seventh, came in on the advice of his team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr, who sussed the conditions so well at Silverstone last year. His race engineer that day was Ricardo Adami, who now manages Lewis Hamilton’s races, but together they stayed out much too long on their slicks and Hamilton fell to the bottom of the top 10.
But while car 44 didn’t realise lap 44 was the time to pit, others behind him did, and moved ahead of the Ferrari as a result. Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Lance Stroll and Nico Hulkenberg, running 10th to 12th consecutively, all came in for intermediates and were rewarded with middle-order points finishes.
The drivers who didn’t come in on lap 44 stuck by their decision the next time around. Only on lap 46, when the rain intensified, did they head in. Could anyone have gained more by pitting on lap 45? The track was still substantially dry when the first drivers came in and some, like Albon, felt they were taking too great a risk.
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Verstappen insisted that Red Bull did not miss a chance to get him in and out of the pits before Norris caught up again. Part of the reason he felt able to risk the damp conditions for longer than Norris was that his Red Bull was on the medium rubber, rather than the hard.
Albon’s pit stop propelled him to fifth place
“I saw them go off in front of me, kept it clean, and when I saw Oscar rejoining, I thought, ‘let’s stay out,’ because it was only those three corners. The rest was still dry. When I continued, basically, the first two sectors were fine – it was just [about whether] I could survive the final sector.
“I think that lap I did was okay. If there wasn’t much more rain coming, I thought it could work. You also have to factor in that even if they caught me on an inter, they’d have to [pit] again for slicks, if it’s not going to rain anymore. So, it was fine.
“I thought, ‘Yeah, we’ll do another lap,’ but then, unfortunately, on that lap, the first sector was still okay-ish, but then in sector two, it started to rain a bit too much and we had to box.
“But in hindsight, it wouldn’t have mattered. If I’d [pitted] with Lando, it would have been P2. If I’d [pitted] the next lap, it would have been P2. And the lap that I did [pit], I was also P2. So, we tried something else, it might have worked. In a way, it didn’t work, but we didn’t lose any position, so it’s fine.”
Verstappen’s claim is backed up by his sector times from lap 45. He was only a few hundredths of a second quicker than Norris through the middle of the lap, but over three-and-a-half seconds slower in the final sector. It would have been closer than had he waited another lap, but it wasn’t a missed opportunity by Red Bull.
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2025 Australian Grand Prix lap chart
The positions of each driver on every lap. Click name to highlight, right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:
2025 Australian Grand Prix gaps chart
The gaps between each driver on every lap compared to the leader’s average lap time. Very large gaps omitted. Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:
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2025 Australian Grand Prix lap times
All the lap times by the drivers (in seconds, very slow laps excluded). Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and toggle drivers using the control below:
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2025 Australian Grand Prix fastest laps
Each driver’s fastest lap:
2025 Australian Grand Prix tyre strategies
The tyre strategies for each driver:
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2025 Australian Grand Prix pit stop times
How long each driver’s pit stops took:
Rank
#
Driver
Team
Complete stop time (s)
Gap to best (s)
Stop no.
Lap no.
1
4
Lando Norris
McLaren
18.031
2
44
2
16
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
18.154
0.123
1
34
3
4
Lando Norris
McLaren
18.464
0.433
1
34
4
44
Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari
18.526
0.495
1
33
5
23
Alexander Albon
Williams
18.573
0.542
1
33
6
1
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
18.7
0.669
1
34
7
1
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
18.721
0.69
2
46
8
31
Esteban Ocon
Haas
18.778
0.747
2
39
9
18
Lance Stroll
Aston Martin
18.802
0.771
1
33
10
30
Liam Lawson
Red Bull
18.88
0.849
1
4
11
18
Lance Stroll
Aston Martin
18.901
0.87
2
44
12
12
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes
18.912
0.881
1
33
13
23
Alexander Albon
Williams
18.952
0.921
2
44
14
22
Yuki Tsunoda
Racing Bulls
18.997
0.966
1
33
15
63
George Russell
Mercedes
19.125
1.094
1
34
16
22
Yuki Tsunoda
Racing Bulls
19.312
1.281
2
47
17
87
Oliver Bearman
Haas
19.37
1.339
3
44
18
63
George Russell
Mercedes
19.378
1.347
2
44
19
10
Pierre Gasly
Alpine
19.482
1.451
2
46
20
10
Pierre Gasly
Alpine
19.589
1.558
1
33
21
31
Esteban Ocon
Haas
19.649
1.618
1
4
22
81
Oscar Piastri
McLaren
19.719
1.688
1
34
23
81
Oscar Piastri
McLaren
19.85
1.819
2
44
24
31
Esteban Ocon
Haas
19.858
1.827
3
46
25
30
Liam Lawson
Red Bull
20.067
2.036
2
33
26
27
Nico Hulkenberg
Sauber
20.209
2.178
2
44
27
44
Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari
20.802
2.771
2
47
28
27
Nico Hulkenberg
Sauber
21.123
3.092
1
33
29
12
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes
21.946
3.915
2
44
30
87
Oliver Bearman
Haas
22.441
4.41
2
39
31
87
Oliver Bearman
Haas
22.494
4.463
1
4
32
5
Gabriel Bortoleto
Sauber
24.073
6.042
1
33
33
16
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
24.528
6.497
2
47
34
5
Gabriel Bortoleto
Sauber
26.214
8.183
2
44
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Six drivers began their first full Formula 1 seasons in today’s Australian Grand Prix but four of them failed to see the chequered flag in the tricky conditions.
Two of them were out before the first lap was over. Unquestionably the most dejected was Isack Hadjar, who spun into a barrier at turn two on the formation lap, causing a delay to the start of the race.
The Racing Bulls driver said he was focused on tyre preparation when his car got away from him. “Usually I take it step-by-step,” he told the official F1 channel. “We were keen on having the best out-lap possible for the race start.
“Early in the lap you try to warm those tyres and I over-did it. The tiniest mistake you can do, and the car is unsave-able. You’re just a passenger, and it feels terrible.”
The original race start was aborted so Hadjar’s car could be recovered and the grand prix eventually began a quarter of an hour behind schedule. Soon after it started, Jack Doohan’s Alpine snapped out of control at turn six.
The Alpine driver, making his second start in a grand prix, said his crash was “the result of a combination of factors which we will go over together as a team to learn from and ensure it does not happen again.”
“It is a tough way to learn but I have digested what happened and put it behind me to focus on what is ahead.”
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Gabriel Bortoleto’s grand prix debut ended after the rain returned on lap 46. He had just switched to a set of intermediates at the time. “Unfortunately I touched the kerb and ended up in the wall,” he admitted.
On the next lap Liam Lawson spun into a barrier. The most experience of the rookies had tried to brave out the shower on his 14-lap-old set of medium slicks.
“We took a chance, to be honest, hoping at least half the track would stay dry,” he said. “We knew that sector three was bad, but we thought that sector one would stay a little bit drier, so we carried on.
“Unfortunately it was bucketing down with rain. At that point, to be honest, I’d backed out of pushing at that point because it was so wet. I was just trying to stay on track, but obviously not ideal.”
One the six-strong rookie contingent, two made it to the chequered flag in a gruelling race. Andrea Kimi Antonelli was the only one to score points, claiming a fine fourth for Mercedes having started 16th. Oliver Bearman redeemed himself somewhat after making two serious errors in practice by getting his Haas to the chequered flag.
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Williams is looking into whether Carlos Sainz Jnr’s car contributed to the crash which put him out of the Australian Grand Prix.
However at least one of their rivals believe he simply lost control of his car on a black painted line at the final corner, which could have been difficult to see.
Sainz crashed out at the end of the first racing lap in damp conditions at Albert Park. His FW47 snapped around as he approached turn 14 and hit a barrier.
Team principal James Vowles said they will look into the role played by Sainz’s up-shift as he approached the corner.
“We need to look into it more,” said Vowles in a video released by the team. “It was just a simple up-shift on a very difficult point in time on a slippery track that seemed to bring the car around with a little bit more power or torque than we expected.
“Now, it’s fine margins, but we need to make sure that as a team we’re providing stable platforms to all of our drivers in all circumstances.”
However Sainz’s former team Ferrari had another theory for the crash. They believe he was caught out by a lack of grip on a black painted line on the track surface at the corner. The team passed that information on to Charles Leclerc during the race to help him avoid the same mistake.
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“Carlos spun in turn 14 on the black line,” Leclerc’s race engineer Bryan Bozzi told him while he circulated behind the Safety Car as Sainz’s Williams was cleared away. “At the turn-in of turn 14 there is a black line and he spun on the black line.”
“So the black line is the one a metre and a half or two metres on the outside of the track, right?” Leclerc asked as he passed the crash scene. “If you take the limit of the track on the left it’s two metres more inside than that and it’s a big black line, right, at the last corner?”
“Yes, it’s about two metres from the left-hand side of the track, just before you’re turning into 14,” Bozzi told him. “So yeah, it could be that one.”
Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer Ricardo Adami told him: “Avoid the black paint line inside 14. That’s why Sainz spun. Avoid the black paint.”
Sainz believes there was a “combination of factors” behind his error. “We managed to spot it on the data and see exactly what happened and what caused the situation,” he said.
“Obviously it’s not the way you want to start the year and a bit of an unfortunate situation. But we move on, not the first race we wanted, but at the same time I’m quick, I feel comfortable in the car and now we need to get the year started.”
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Max Verstappen’s record spell as the world championship leader has ended at the first race of 2025.
The Red Bull driver has not been headed in the championship standings since the Spanish Grand Prix in 2022. Charles Leclerc arrived at that race leading the championship, 1,029 days ago, or just over two years and nine months.
Verstappen broke the previous record for longest championship reign during last season. It was held by Michael Schumacher, who led the standings for 896 days.
Coincidentally, both runs were ended by victories for British drivers in McLarens who won a season-opening race at Melbourne. Schumacher finished fourth but went on to win the 2003 title. Verstappen took the chequered flag in second place today, less than a second behind winner Lando Norris.
Schumacher’s spell in the lead ran from the 2000 United States Grand Prix until the first race of the 2003 season, held in Australia. That was won by David Coulthard. During that time Schumacher, driving for Ferrari, scored three of his seven world championship victories.
Verstappen also picked up three titles during his unbroken spell at the top of the standings. He is the first driver ever to spend 1,000 days in the lead of the world championship.
He said today’s race shows Red Bull are not on McLaren’s pace at the moment. “It is what I expected it to be,” he said. “You can see also, in that first stint, we were lacking a little bit of pace compared to McLaren.
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“But it’s still 18 points more than what I had here last year so I’ll take that.”
If Verstappen rebounds to take the title this year, he will emulate another of Schumacher’s feats by winning five consecutive world championships. No driver other than Schumacher has previously achieved this.
Schumacher is one of only two drivers who has won more grands prix than Verstappen. The Red Bull driver has 63 victories, Schumacher 91 and Lewis Hamilton holds the record with 105.
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Alexander Albon admitted he did not agree with the pit stop call made by his team mate which earned him a surprise fifth place in the Australian Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz Jnr crashed out on the first lap of the race. He returned to the team’s garage where he assisted them with their strategy calls in the rain-affected race.
Following a light shower early in the race, the rain intensified later on, and the race-leading McLaren drivers briefly went off at turn 12. Some drivers pitted immediately in reaction, including Albon, at Sainz’s urging.
“At least being outside of the car I could help the strategy team do the right call with Alex,” said Sainz during the race. “I think we might have just boxed Alex on the perfect lap. So at least I have been useful out of the car too.”
Albon admitted he had doubts about the decision at the time, but was thrilled with the outcome, and thanked the team’s head of race strategy Charles-Antoine Florentin.
“It was a great strategy,” he told the official F1 channel. “I have to say Charles, our strategist, did a great job.
“I didn’t agree with his call to put me in. The track was bone-dry in sector one and two when I came out, but it was the right call and I’m just really happy for everyone.”
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Thanks to the well-timed change, Albon finished fifth. He was temporarily promoted to fourth when Andrea Kimi Antonelli received a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release in the pit lane, but Mercedes successfully overturned that decision after the race.
This is Williams’ first top-five finish in a grand prix which lasted more than a lap for eight years. George Russell finished second in the single-lap Belgian Grand Prix of 2021, before which Lance Stroll’s third place at Baku in 2017 was Williams’ most recent top-five result.
“It feels weird, because a P4 is very special,” he said. “But for it to happen in the first race, you almost lose the appreciation for what it is.”
He was particularly pleased with his car’s performance in conditions which have not suited Williams in recent seasons.
“This is for everyone at Grove as well, for all their work,” he said. “It’s been a really strong winter and we had a great day yesterday.
“Today was windy, mixed conditions. It’s what we hate, actually, and despite all of that we still had a relatively competitive car. I think we still were one of the quickest midfield runners out there today and I’m positive for things to come.”
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Mercedes have formally petitioned the stewards of the Australian Grand Prix to overturn the penalty they handed to Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
The rookie driver finished fourth on the road but received a five-second time penalty which dropped him to fourth place, behind Alexander Albon.
The stewards ruled Mercedes released Antonelli from his pit box unsafely during the race, into the path of Nico Hulkenberg. The Sauber driver “had to brake and take avoiding action,” they noted.
Less than an hour after the end of the race, the stewards confirmed Mercedes had submitted the paperwork requesting them to review the decision. Representative of Mercedes and Sauber have been summoned to a meeting of the stewards which was due to begin at 6:40pm local time.
In line with usual procedures, a hearing will first be held to determine whether Mercedes has presented a “significant and relevant new element which was unavailable to the party seeking the review at the time of the decision concerned.” If the stewards agree that they have, a second hearing will take place to reconsider the original decision.
Although the Right of Review process only occasionally results in decisions being overturned, one was earlier this weekend in the supporting Formula 3 race. That request was brought by the FIA itself, to correct an error made by the stewards, and led to a driver’s penalty being cancelled.
This article will be updated
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli has regained fourth place in the Australian Grand Prix after the stewards cancelled his five-second time penalty.
Mercedes formally petitioned the stewards to reconsider their decision to hand him a five-second time penalty for an alleged ‘unsafe release’ incident in the pits.
The team submitted new evidence from the roll hoop mounted camera of Antonelli’s car. The stewards, who had been unable to examine the evidence when they made their original decision, agreed it showed Antonelli had moved into the fast lane of the pits safely.
They therefore cancelled the five-second time penalty which dropped him from fourth place to fifth in the original classification of the race. Alexander Albon, who originally moved up to fourth, therefore falls back to fifth.
The stewards originally ruled Mercedes released Antonelli from his pit box unsafely during the race, into the path of Nico Hulkenberg. The Sauber driver “had to brake and take avoiding action,” they noted.
However less than an hour after the end of the race, the stewards confirmed Mercedes had submitted the paperwork requesting them to review the decision. Representatives of Mercedes and Sauber were summoned to a meeting of the stewards.
“The petitioner provided video from the roll hoop camera which was previously unavailable,” the stewards explained. “This video was relevant and significant in the opinion of the stewards and was unavailable at the time of the original decision (having only been downloaded from the Formula 1 camera post-race).”
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The video proved that although Hulkenberg reacted to Antonelli emerging in front of him, he had enough room to avoid the Mercedes.
“It is clear that car 12 [Antonelli] did not cross into the fast lane until a significant distance down the pit lane and only after the driver checked his mirror to confirm clearance with car 27 [Hulkenberg]. The roll hoop camera shows that he had sufficient room to safely pass the McLaren pits without risk to the McLaren mechanics.”
“Having examined the new video, plus additional video previously not available to the stewards and taken from the helicopter, the stewards decide to reverse the previous decision. As a result the penalty on car 12 in document number 43 is removed and no further action is required.”
This is the second time this weekend the Right of Review has been used to change a decision made by the stewards. The FIA itself requested a review of a decision in a supporting Formula 3 race, which the stewards upheld, leading to another driver’s penalty being cancelled.
This article will be updated
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