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The Guardian - AU
Sport
Joey Lynch

Lando Norris wins F1 Australian Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen – as it happened

Lando Norris Oscar Piastri Joey Lynch Max Verstappen F1 McLaren Red Bull Charles Leclerc Christian Horner Ferrari
McLaren's Lando Norris passes the chequered flag to win the Australian Grand Prix
The 2025 Formula One season begins with Lando Norris winning the Australian F1 Grand Prix in Melbourne ahead of Max Verstappen. Photograph: Edgar Su/Reuters

Giles Richards has covered all the action from a wet and wild Melbourne.

But that is where we’ll wrap things up from Melbourne, where Lando Norris has won the first race of the 2025 Formula 1 season in chaotic, wet conditions.

How mad was it? Well, one car spun out and hit the wall before we’d even had gotten out of the formation lap in Isack Hadjar and it only spiralled from there. Jack Doohan and Carlos Sainz would go on to crash on lap one and Fernando Alonso, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Liam Lawson all went out late, bringing the safety car onto the track and setting up a tight finish.

Oscar Piastri’s dreams of victory in his own grand prix were dashed when he went of on lap 44 but his teammate Norris drove an excellent race, somehow managing to navigate a raft of challenges and a furious finishing Max Verstappen to take out the race.

The McLaren’s speed, based on this weekend, will make them the team to beat this season. Ferraris, meanwhile, may face some questions, not just over their strategy when the rain came, but if they’ve got what it takes to stay with McLaren, Red Bull, and Mercedes.

It all sets the stage for what should be an amazing season, which will continue next week in China. I’ve been Joey Lynch and thanks for your company today, we’ll have Giles Richards report up soon.

An understandably glum Oscar Piastri is interviewed on the coverage.

“It’s obviously pretty disappointed at the moment. I feel like for every lap bar one I drove an incredibly strong race and don’t have anything to show for it. I don’t have anyone to blame but myself, a bit unfortunate to get stuck like I did but I put myself there.

“For me, the big positive is the other 56 laps of the race, I felt I had really strong pace in all conditions and that is what I will try and take from this weekend.

“Given I was trying to reverse for a minute, we made the right decisions. There was much more on the table than ninth today, so it is a shame to not have that result.”

Maybe Norris should start his anti-hex work now…

How it finished in Melbourne

1. Lando Norris (25 pts)

2. Max Verstappen (18)

3. George Russell (15)

4. Alexander Albon (12)

5. Kimi Antonelli (10)

6. Lance Stroll (8)

7. Nico Hulkenberg (6)

8. Charles Leclerc (4)

9. Oscar Piastri (2)

10. Lewis Hamilton (1)

11. Pierre Gasly

12. Yuki Tsunoda

13. Esteban Ocon

14. Oliver Bearman

DNF. Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto,Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, Jack Doohan, Isack Hadjar

Lando Norris holds the The Sir Jack Brabham Trophy aloft and receives his champagne shower from Max Verstappen and George Russell. He was tested today, he was pushed but, ultimately, he had the answers. A genuine title threat this season.

The drivers have taken their place on the podium and the British national anthem is ringing out across Albert Park. That’s probably going to sting a bit for the Aussie crowd hoping for a Piastri win, to be honest.

Our winner today, Lando Norris, is speaking on the coverage.

“It was amazing, a top race, especially with Max behind me. I was pushing, especially the last two laps - it was a little bit stressful, not going to lie.

“[They were] tricky conditions, but there are the ones that are enjoyable and we ended up on top so I’m happy.

“We got it wrong a lot last year so I guess we learned from our mistakes - we lost out in Silverstone and Canada in similar conditions. Dealing with the pressure, dealing with Max, with Oscar behind me. I was pushing the whole way through.

“A challenging race but for McLaren I need to give thanks as they have given me a brilliant car.”

The big call that Ferrari needed to make was if they stayed out there on their slicks when the rain came. At that point, following Norris and Piastri’s errors and Verstappen pitting, Hamilton led the race.

Could they have managed given the volume of rain that fell in such a short period of time? We’ll never know. You’d think not but that didn’t stop Hamilton getting on the radio during the race to say a big opportunity had been lost.

Max Verstappen now speaking on the coverage after his second-place finish.

“It was a difficult race, but at the end it was fun. Lando had a little moment in Turn six which is why I got close. It was fun, pushing, fighting for the win but I’m just happy to bring it home, score good points and this is a good start for us.

“[After] I stayed out, the first lap was alright but the weather continued. At the end of the day if we had boxed one lap earlier, we would have been P2 anyway so it was worth a gamble. It was quite spicy on the slick tyres.

“This is where I expected to be, it is 18 points more than I had here last year, so I’ll take that.”

George Russell speaking on the coverage after finishing third in his Mercedes.

“It was a great race to come home in third and well done to Lando – a race like that when you are leading is probably your worst nightmare.

“Well done to [Antonelli], too. Not our strongest race, but let’s come back next weekend. It was good fun, I was quite enjoying it to be honest, hoping the two guys ahead made a mistake and I could slip through. Hope everyone enjoyed it at home!”

“Oof, a bit of pressure,” Norris says on the radio. “Well handled. Great start to the year.”

Yeah, just a bit of pressure.

Updated

So the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg crosses the finish line in front of both Ferraris. Just as we all predicted, no doubt.

Lando Norris wins the Australian Grand Prix!

Lando Norris holds off the challenge of Max Verstappen to take out the first race of the 2025 Formula One season! Russel rounds out the podium and Albon benifts from a five-second penalty for Antonelli to take fourth, the rookie instead having to make do with a still impressive fifth.

Stroll comes in sixth and Hulkenberg rolled through in seventh, ahead of Leclerc, Piastri and Hamilton. Ferrari had a moment where they could have struck when the rain descended but they erred and been punished.

Updated

Lap 56/57: Norris’ crew are on the radio, telling him that while Verstappen has DRS, the McLaren has the pace so don’t push things.

The Dutchman looks like he’s going to go for broke in the final lap. A barnstorming finish to a mad, mad, mad race awaits.

Lap 55/57: Piastri has got past Gasly and back into the points. Up top, Norris leads, with Verstappen and Russell joining him on the podium. Albon follows in fourth, with Antonelli, Stroll, and Hulkenberg behind them. Leclerc, Hamilton, and Piastri round out the top ten.

Lap 54/57: A wobble from Gasly sees him run off the track and that opens the door for Leclerc and Hamilton to take advantage and move ahead into eighth and ninth respectively. Doesn’t get any easier for the Alpine driver because Piastri promptly moves to monster him for tenth.

Norris still leads as the DRS is re-activated.

Updated

Lap 53/57: Seeking to get himself back into the points, Piastri has vaulted himself up into eleventh and set his sights on tenth-placed Hamilton. Verstappen has seen off the challenge of Russell and now looks more secure in second.

Lap 52/57: Norris guns is straight out of the re-start and moves to establish a gap on Verstappen, who all of a sudden has Russell poking around his tail. Leclerc has also taken advantage of Hamilton getting blocked in to replace him in ninth.

Everyone remains on intermediates, on which they’ll finish the race.

Lap 51/57: Everyone is on the lead lap and the safety car has come in, setting us up for, hopefully, a six lap sprint to the finish.

Norris leads from Verstappen, Russell, Albon, Antonelli, Stroll, Hulkenberg, Gasly, Hamilton, and Leclerc.

Lap 50/57: As blue skies begin to peak out over Albert Park – welcome to Melbourne – we have just 14 cars remaining on the track; crashes from Bortoleto and Lawson also seeing them rubbed out. This course and the conditions have extracted a toll tonight.

Lap 49/57: With yellow flags still flying, the safety car leading the pack around, and the pit lane game of bluff and double-bluff played, Norris leads from Verstappen once again, with Russell in third.

Albon is up to fourth, followed by Antonelli, Stroll, Hulkenberg, Gasly, Hamilton, and Leclerc. Ferrari had the chance to gamble and stay out there on their hards but opted to come in and the timing has worked against them.

Updated

Lap 48/57: Every driver in the grid is now on intermediates.

It’s a disastrous series of events for Piastri, who went from fighting for the win at his home grand prix to skidding off the grid and while he was able to get his car back onto the track, he’s fallen all the way down to 13th.

Lap 47/57: I can’t keep track of all of this. Lawson has now spun off and the yellow flags are out.

Lap 45/57: Verstappen leads from Hamilton and Gasly. Tsunoda is fourth, Leclerc fifth, Norris is now back in sixth, Lawson is seventh, Russell is eighth, Albon ninth, and Stroll tenth.

Verstappen has been told to stay out there on his mediums and see if he can survive this rain without needing to get on to intermediates. A great gamble. No, they’ve changed their mind, he’s coming in!

Updated

Lap 44/57: NORRIS SPINS BUT RECOVERS, PIASTRI HAS SLID OFF AND VERSTAPPEN LEADS!

The rain hit at the exact wrong time for McLaren and they lose traction in disastrous fashion and run off the track. Norris is able to save it but his Aussie teammate couldn’t. Oh my god.

Updated

Lap 43/57: The wind has begin to pick up and the rain is seemingly imminent. The speed of the McLarens has already boosted their lead after the departure of the safety car but the looming rain could be telling.

Lap 42/57: Ohhhh boy. Class three rain – a proper shower – is expected to hit for two laps according to Leclerc’s radio. Things are going to get a bit wild.

Everyone bunched up after the safety car, Norris leads from Piastri and Verstappen. Russell is in fourth, then Leclerc, Tsunoda, Albon, Hamilton, Gasly, and Antonelli.

Lap 41/57: Norris, Piastri, Russell, Leclerc, Hamitlon, Gasly, Antonelli, and Stroll are on hards, while the rest of the pack, led by Verstappen, are on mediums.

The safety car comes in and we’re racing once more!

Lap 40/57: Is the rain going to skirt around the track? Is it going to last one lap, two laps or more? Should you wait and react or make a guess and go for it? This is now dominating the thinking of the drivers and pit lane.

Bearman has come in and put a set of mediums on, replacing his intermediates. Ocon has done so, too.

Lap 39/57: Broadcast is increasingly pessimistic about what anything above a light drizzle could mean for the safety of this race, with the skies over Melbourne turning a much more hostile shade of grey.

The wreckage of Alonso’s car has now been cleared.

Updated

Lap 38/57: Alonso’s bingle also means that Antonelli is now up into tenth and into the points. The broadcast is noting, meanwhile, that Ferrari think the rain that’s coming will last for two laps, as opposed to the one-lap forecast by McLaren.

Lap 37/57: “A very small but intense rain shower” is approaching, Piastri’s pit crew tells him on the radio. Probably to only last a lap but another twist thrown into this tale.

Norris’ crew subsequently tell him that it’s going to be heavier than the drizzle we’ve been seeing – which could cause chaos.

With a lack of service roads, the broadcast has also noted that a lorry has been forced to drive onto the track to remove Alonso’s stricken car.

“Greatest day of that recovery truck driver’s life, leading the safety car around and being overtaken by the field” Hugh Molloy writes in.

Updated

Lap 36/57: Replays showing that Alonso has just touched something, be it gravel, kerb, or ill-feeling, that saw him skid out and collect the wall. Such fine margins in these conditions.

Lap 35/37: Norris and Piastri are set to have a set of hards put on on during their stop but Verstappen will go with set of mediums.

Albon, the Saubers of Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, and Lawson are also on mediums.

The rest of the field are on hards barring Haas, who remain on intermediates.

A safety car is now on the track.

Updated

Lap 34/57: Alonso spins out and goes into the wall, eliciting yellow flags!

Immediately, pit crews sprint out to prepare changes in tyres. Hamilton goes in for a set of hards, the first one in. But it looks like everyone is going to come in for a change-up during this stretch.

A strategic shift in the race with just over twenty laps to go.

Lap 33/57: After starting in the pit lane, Bearman has closed the gap to Ocon in the ‘battle’ for last place but it doesn’t look like either Haas will need to worry about fighting for any higher position.

Lap 32/57: Piastri briefly runs off the track and while he’s easily able to course correct and get back going, that costs him a couple of seconds on Norris – the gap now up to 2.5 seconds.

Lap 31/57: Zak Brown pops up on the broadcast again and the word is that Piastri no longer needs to hold off – “It’s time to go racing”

Lap 30/57: McLaren is on the radio telling Piastri to keep calm and hold off from Norris as the duo work their way through the stragglers at the back of the race. How well will they be able to reign him in as the prospect of a home GP wins looms?

Hamilton continues to push to find a way past Albon for seventh.

Updated

Lap 29/57: Piastri is now drawing closer to Norris up front, taking advantage of the DRS as the gap between the Australian and the Brit shrinks down to less than a second.

Lap 28/57: Antonelli now has his sights set on Alonso in tenth-place, pushing hard – almost losing himself on a couple of occasions as he pushes hard – and looking for the overtake.

Lap 27/57: Broadcast of the opinion that Verstappen is going to need to pit soon as he loses further and further ground to the McLaren’s, closer now to fourth-placed Russell than the leading papaya duo.

Lap 26/57: Verstappen is now 14 seconds off the leading Norris – the McLaren’s are one-two and then it’s daylight – figurative daylight, it’s still quite grey and wet – behind them. Those papaya cars are absolute lightning, nothing has been able to go with them this weekend.

Lap 25/57: Leclerc gets on the radio asking if there’s a leakage, because his seat is full of water. “Must be the water,” pit lane responds. “Let’s add that to the words of wisdom.” says the driver.

Lap 24/57: As Albon and Hamilton battle for seventh, Tsunodo is taking advantage to stretch his buffer on them in sixth.

Hamilton tries to force his way up but Albon shuts the door on it.

Lap 23/57: Antonelli has now moved past Stroll and is up into 11th place.

Norris leads from Piastri and Verstappen. Russell in fourth, Leclerc follows, as does Albon, Hamilton, Gasly, and Alonso.

Lap 22/57: With Verstappen back in third, Leclerc is now the biggest riser in the race, up to fifth from his start of seventh. Alonso and Stroll have also gained two spaces down in 10th and 11th. Antonelli is down in 12th but that’s a four place improvement and he’s lapping at the same pace as fourth-placed Russell.

Lap 21/57: McLaren CEO Zak Brown is on the broadcast and mentions that he’s had four different weather forecasts given to him in the last 20 minutes. Welcome to Melbourne, buddy.

Lap 20/57: Norris holds his lead from Piastri, with the former’s garage getting on the blower saying that the plan is to stay out on the track as long as more rain holds off.

Both Hamilton and Albon have escaped the wrath of the stewards.

Lap 19/57: Verstappen is on the radio saying that if there’s more rain coming he’ll need to change his tyres – his garage telling him they’ll lose places with a stop and that conditions are clearing.

Lap 18/57: Verstappen is on the radio saying his tyres are dead. As opposed to pining for the fjords. A big decision coming up for the Red Bull garage as the McLarens get out in front.

Albon and Hamilton have been noted for potential safety car infractions.

Lap 17/57: Verstappen goes too deep as he underbreaks, finds the kerb as he locks up, and that allows Piastri to take advantage of the rare mistake and move into second! McLaren are now one-two, Norris leads Piastri, with Verstappen following in third.

Lap 16/57: Drizzle has begun to fall at Albert Park. Norris leads from Verstappen and Piastri.

Antonelli spins out and is able to recover but that sees his work to overtake Hulkenberg undone.

Lap 15/57: Norris continues to hold his lead over Verstappen but the champion is benefitting from the DRS being turned on to stay with him. Piastri is the fastest man on the track, keeping the pressure on Verstappen.

After starting in 16th, Antonelli has darted past Hulkenberg and is up into 12th.

Lap 14/57: Norris retains the lead in the Australian grand prix, with Verstappen second and Piastri third. Russell is more than six seconds back of the Australian in fourth, followed by Leclerc and Tsunoda. Albon is seventh, Hamilton sits at eight, Gasly is ninth and Alonso rounds out the top ten.

Some warnings of light drizzle being inbound delivered to drivers.

Lap 13/57: Hamilton is on the radio, saying that his Ferrari is snappy and that he’s having trouble with driveability. The Brit is sitting in eighth place at the end of the lap, while his teammate Leclerc is fifth, dropping further back of fourth-placed Russell.

Lap 12/57: Piastri is right up the back of Verstappen, with the activation of the DRS set to give the local lad a further boost in his effort to grab second.

Antonelli is all over the back of Hulkenberg further back in the race for 12th.

Lap 11/57: A dry line is now clearly discernible on the racing line, with drivers diving in and out to get some water on their tyres to try and cool their intermediates down.

Conditions have also dried enough for DRS to be enabled.

Lap 10/57: Norris has now extended his lead over Verstappen to over a second and looks to be pulling away further. That McLaren is quick.

Alonso and Tsunodo are being investigated for leaving too great a gap between themselves and the car in front of them while the safety car was on the track.

Lap 9/57: Norris retains his lead from Verstappen and Piastri but the Dutchman has closed the gap from second to first slightly.

Tsunoda is also under investigation by stewards for a bit of mischief during the safety car.

Lap 8/57: The first full lap of the Australian Grand Prix under race conditions is completed and after coming under some initial pressure from Verstappen, he’s starting gradually gave himself some breathing room as the lap continued.

Alonso may have done something a bit naughty under safety car conditions, stewards have launched an investigation.

Updated

Lap 7/57: The safety car has diverted back into the pit lane and racing has resumed. Norris leads from Verstappen as we prepare for a rolling start, with Piastri, Russell, and Leclerc making up the rest of the top five. Tsunoda follows, as does Albon, Hamilton, Gasly, and Alonso.

Lap 6/57: The safety car has remained out on the track as work continues to clear the debris from Doohan and Sainz’s crashes.

Lap 5/57: All the cars are being redirected through pit lane as work is done to clear Sainz’s car off the track just before the home straight, with Bearman and Lawson using the opportunity to put a new set of intermediates onto the car.

Messages are being passed onto the drivers that there is unlikely to be any rain for the next half an hour or so, meaning the track could start to dry out soon.

Sainz’s car has been cleared, opening the path for the race to be started.

Lap 4/57: Three cars are already out of the race and we haven’t even completed a full lap yet – Hadjar didn’t even get a chance to start the race after spinning out on the formation lap.

Ground crews are still working to get Sainz’s car off the track.

Lap 3/57: Verstappen got good traction off the line and was able to keep that moving as he moved ahead of Piastri. Leclerc, meanwhile, was able to leap up to fifth before the safety car came out.

Lap 2/57: Carlos Sainz has gone off at turn 14 under safety car conditions, spinning out and hitting the tail and side of his car into the wall. His race is done.

He was on the racing line at the time, with last year’s race winner in Melbourne getting on the radio saying he experienced a torque surge.

Updated

Lap 1/57: Verstappen comes out flying and while Norris is able to see of the challenge the world champion has overtaken the hometown hero Piastri. It’s a clean start, too, with every car on the grid making it around turn one.

But disaster for the Australian fans as Jack Doohan crashes into the wall just before turn six! Yellow flags immediately come out and a safety car enters the track. Another rookie comes a cropper in the opening race of the season.

Lights Out! The 2025 Formula One Season is underway

We are racing in Melbourne!

Updated

Everyone seems to have got through unscathed on this attempt. Lights out is moments away.

Our second attempt at a formation lap is underway, potentially with a bit less spray being thrown up than in the first attempt.

Stroll seems to have thought better about starting the race on wets, the broadcast noting he’s using the time afforded by the aborted starts to get a set of intermediates delivered to his car.

To add a bit more drama to it all, it sounds like we’re going to get some more drizzle here in Melbourne in just a few minutes – probably coinciding with the new race start time.

Updated

Race control is sending a signal that the start has been aborted as Hadjar’s car is removed from the track, with the youngster looking like he’s on the verge of tears.

Crews are coming streaming back out onto the track as the remaining 17 cars take position back on the home straight. We’ll have another formation lap in ten minutes.

Updated

Oh dear! The track has claimed a victim and we haven’t even started the race yet, Isack Hadjar has spun out and put the rear of his Racing Bulls car into the wall on turn two. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.

Updated

The formation lap is underway, with it already apparent how low visibility is going to be.

Every driver on the grid has opted to start today’s race on intermediate tyres with the lone exception of Lance Stroll, who will set out with a set of full wets on his Aston Martin.

We’re five minutes away from lights out in Melbourne.

Isask Hadjar proved the fastest of the rookies in qualifying yesterday, just missing the cut-off for Q3 and starting his Racing Bulls car from 11th on the grid.

Teammate Yuki Tsunoda, though, was even quicker; the Japanese driver registering the fifth fastest time in the final qualifying session to ensure he will start on the third row of the grid – well ahead of Lawson, who got the nod to join Verstappen with Red Bull this season.

It wasn’t quite the nightmare session his fellow rookie Bearman had, but new Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli also struggled in qualifying yesterday.

The Italian broke a part of his floor after sliding onto one of the kerbs surrounding the Melbourne street circuit, hampering him enough to eliminate him in Q1 while his teammate Russell went on to qualify fourth.

Confirmation coming in that Liam Lawson is also set to start form pit lane after Red Bull was forced to change his rear wing.

After getting a brief taste of the track on wets, Norris is heading back into the pits to put a set of intermediates onto his car before the race gets underway.

Zak Brown, McLaren CEO, is on the broadcast and says he’s expecting a rolling safety car start.

With conditions wet and wild it’s going to be a first wet-weather race in Melbourne since 2010, when Jensen Button won from fourth. Another Brit in George Russell has qualified in fourth today, an omen?

Some interesting developments coming out of Albert Park as the cars get a first look at the sodden circuit – plenty of cars taking the opportunity to practice a standing start as they head out of the pits.

And there’s a bit of a surprise from Ferrari, as Hamilton is being sent out on intermediates, while Leclerc looks to have full wets on.

2025, of course, sees the launch of a new partnership. The sport’s most successful driver teaming with the sport’s most successful team.

Lewis Hamilton, driving a Ferrari. A man with seven world titles seeking to bring a first world champion to the Italian giants since 2007.

Are you bored of Max Verstappen’s dominance of F1? If so, I’m afraid you’ll get little sympathy from the Dutchman, who spoke to Giles Richards.

Indications from pre-season testing were that Williams were perhaps ahead of schedule in their attempts to rebuild for 2026 but even still, their pace so far this weekend has been one of the major talking points.

James Vowles’ team will start with two cars in the top ten today, Alex Albon qualifying in sixth – ahead of both Ferraris – while Carlos Sainz will get things going from tenth.

One of five rookies on the grid this season, Ollie Bearman’s first weekend in F1 couldn’t be going much worse so far.

The Brit put his Haas into the wall in FP1, missed FP2 as repairs were made, and subsequently spun off and beached his car in Fp3, meaning he had only 13 laps of practice before qualifying.

Gearbox problems then forced him back into the pits at the start of Q1, preventing him from setting a lap time and forcing him to the start today’s race from pit lane.

Updated

If Verstappen is to take out his fifth title in 2025, it may just prove to be his most hard-fought yet.

Pre-season testing showed that the Red Bull will be challenged by the cars of McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes this season, and that Christian Horner’s team are still trying to nail down their best approach.

This bore out in qualifying, as the McLaren’s of Norris and Piastri looked to have that extra edge of their rivals and duly qualified one-two.

After some in-depth work by Red Bull engineers, Verstappen found an extra level of pace after a sluggish Friday and to secure third place on the grid but teammate Liam Lawson had no such luck – qualifying all the way back in 18th.

Today marks the start of the 2025 F1 campaign and Max Verstappen, who qualified in third, once again enters as the hunted.

The Dutchman took out his fourth consecutive world title in 2024, arguably his most hardly fought since his first back in 2021. But there are 19 other drivers on the grid, eager to hunt him down and make their own piece of history. To get you up to speed, here’s Giles Richards’ team-by-team preview.

The Grid Down Under

1. Lando Norris - McLaren

2. Oscar Piastri - McLaren

3. Max Verstappen – Red Bull

4. George Russell – Mercedes

5. Yuki Tsunoda – Racing Bulls

6. Alexander Albon – Williams

7. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari

8. Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari

9. Pierre Gasly – Alpine

10. Carlos Sainz – Williams

11. Isack Hadjar – Racing Bulls

12. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin

13. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin

14. Jack Doohan – Alpine

15. Gabriel Bortoleto – Sauber

16. Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes

17. Nico Hulkenberg – Sauber

18. Liam Lawson – Red Bull

19. Esteban Ocon – Haas

20. Oliver Bearman – Haas

Preamble

Howdy one and all, my name is Joey Lynch and it’s great to have your company for The Guardian’s live coverage of the first race of the 2025 Formula 1 season. And we’re coming to you from a grey, wet, and windy Melbourne.

The aphorism in motorsport, not just F1, is that rain is the great equaliser and if that bears true then today’s race might be staged on one of the most level playing fields we’ve seen for quite a while. In contrast to the scorching temperatures of yesterday, the temperatures are in the mid teens in the Australian sporting capital (low 60s in freedom units) and could drop even further in the afternoon. In addition, rain has already buffeted Melbourne across the morning and the forecast is projecting further, spotty showers over the course of the race.

Already today, race organisers, doing what they can to ensure the main event is put in the best position to go ahead, have been forced to cancel today’s V8 Supercars race after just two laps and the scheduled Formula 2 race before it could complete its formation lap.

What does that mean? In theory, it means the technological advantages enjoyed by the grids heavyweights – while still there – will be lessened by the conditions. That means that the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri atop the grid, who have possessed a clear edge in pace throughout this weekend, won’t glean the same kind of boon they otherwise might have in dry conditions.

For the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in seventh and eighth, conversely, whose cars haven’t shown the same kind of speed as their rivals thus far but are expected to show better pace once the race gets underway, the conditions could serve to give them a leg up in their attempts to move through the pack in front of them.

Lights Out: 9pm PST/4am GMT/3pm AEDT

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