A wet, massive track and cold, hostile weather greeted the field in Melbourne , where the question of the day was whether McLaren and Lando Norris could convert their excellent one-lap pace into a win.
As the field set off on the formation lap of the Australian Grand Prix, Racing Bulls rookie Isaac Hadja r lost control of his car in a slow corner, crashing into the wall... After such an introduction, we were expecting a real chaotic race for the season opener. And it has arrived.
After the start, Max Verstappen immediately gained a position, while Lando Norris maintained the lead, but we did not see much continuity, because further back Jack Doohan seriously destroyed the Alpine . The safety car came out, but as soon as it was signaled, we already saw another car crash into the wall: Carlos Sainz abandoned the Williams...
What followed was 30 minutes of relentless boredom, during which help was provided, and that time was more than enough for the aforementioned circumstances to change. After eight laps behind the safety car, the race finally restarted, but nothing significant happened, unless you can consider the drying up of the ideal racing line as such. Norris was increasingly distancing Verstappen , while Piastri was steadily closing in. The Australian soon managed to get his opponent in his sights, but it is fair to say that this was more due to the Dutchman's mistake. There were many mistakes and few changes of position, and moments that are reminiscent of the race. At the front, the situation remained unchanged, Norris was in the lead, followed by Piastri , while Verstappen was at the rear with an abysmal delay. The rest of the field did not even fit into a frame, which says a lot about the balance of power. We were about to give up the race when Fernando Alonso had an epiphany, crashed the Aston Martin, and brought the guys together. Many became more aggressive, some on medium tyres, and so the well-constructed strategy up to that point was completely overturned.
After long laps and cleaning, the race was restarted, where the two McLarens easily maintained the first two positions ahead of Verstappen , but... But the rain arrived and with it chaos: Piastri went off the track and buried himself, Norris ran off to get the intermediate tyres, while Verstappen took the lead . But the Dutchman did not control the situation for long, the pit lane was his end. In the meantime, Lewis Hamilton took the lead (!!), Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto crashed into the wall.
In the end, Lando Norris also handled the new restart perfectly, dominating practically the entire race and easily winning the Australian Grand Prix over Max Verstappen and George Russell. We cannot forget the incredible fourth place of Alexander Albon and Williams, the fifth place of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and the fact that from an incredibly boring race it eventually became a great race, with real battles in the last laps!
Photo: AP
