Anything but a Stroll in the Park
A recap of the 2025 Australian Grand Prix
Formula One is finally back! And this past weekend’s race was a reminder of what we’ve been missing for the past four months.
I’m not entirely sure why Australia stopped being the season opener after the pandemic. Bahrain as the opener has always felt a bit redundant given pre-season testing already takes place there. Sure, the Sakhir International Circuit might be a more exciting track on paper than the Albert Park Circuit, but that’s more about Albert Park setting the bar low than Sakhir being legendary.
What Albert Park has on its side, though, is the weather. They say Melbourne experiences four seasons in a day, and it’s precisely those variable conditions that can make even a mundane track like Albert Park deliver racing more exciting than what a track in the middle of a desert ever could. This year’s race showed exactly why the season opener should return to Melbourne, with the conditions making racing at Albert Park anything but a stroll in the park.
Also, if you haven’t already yet, be sure to check out Omakase Formula’s historical dive into past F1 races! The first post covers the controversial 1994 Australian Grand Prix, which cemented the rise of one of F1’s most legendary figures.
McLaren start 2025 by correcting 2024’s mistakes.
Lando Norris: 1st (Qualified 1st)
Oscar Piastri: 9th (Qualified 2nd)
I’ve seen detractors say Norris won this race solely via driving the best car and benefitted from team favoritism. Those claims are either entirely untrue or far too exaggerated.
McLaren do have the best car, and it showed throughout the weekend. However, as Brazil last year demonstrated, rain is the great equalizer in F1. It’s worth noting how difficult the constantly evolving conditions in Melbourne were: finding grip on the track and understanding how hard you can push the car is difficult when the track starts off wet, begins to dry, and then suddenly becomes wet again. It’s even more difficult when you’re the race leader like Norris was for almost the whole race, because you have no one in front of you to offer clues as to what the track up ahead is like. Norris wasn’t perfect on the day, as illustrated by the slight detour into the gravel he took on Lap 44. But on a day when nearly everyone made mistakes, he did incredibly well to keep his mistakes to a bare minimum and controlled the race pace brilliantly. Both of those things are down to his driving, not the car. While starting the season off with a win and the championship lead is a huge result for any driver, I believe this win, especially under these conditions, will provide an especially crucial mental boost for Norris. He’s shown signs of being an incredible driver in the wet—think back to sprint qualifying in China last year, where he took pole position by over a second ahead of Hamilton. However, wet races themselves had always seemed to prove a source of heartbreak rather than joy—think back to Russia 2021 or Brazil 2024). This win, then, should exorcise any demons Norris might have had about his ability to perform in wet races.
As for accusations of “team favoritism,” it’s important to remember the delay in team radios being broadcast on the live feed played a significant role in creating that impression. Additionally, the initial message made it clear both drivers were only required to hold position while they were clearing backmarkers and managing a crucial period where the track was drying. That lasted barely two laps, and the second message giving the ok to race again was finally broadcast to the audience at an untimely moment where the drivers had already been given the ok to race and Piastri had fallen behind after making a few mistakes, making it look like they were only allowed to race once Norris had a healthy lead.
I can understand the argument that asking Piastri to hold position in that moment stopped his momentum, but that call by the team didn’t cost him the race. The Safety Car brought out by Alonso’s crash on Lap 32 allowed him to close the entire gap he had to Norris after he initially fell behind once the team gave the ok to race again, and he still looked on track for the podium until Lap 44. Piastri not returning to the track as quickly as Norris did after going off-track on Turn 14 probably caused his spin-off at Turn 15, but for me it’s unclear why he took such a different line back. If you look at video of the incident, both McLarens take pretty much the same line into the corner, but Norris recovers much faster once he hits the gravel. It could be Piastri carried too much speed, but even if that was the case, I’m not sure if that alone explains how different his re-entry was. Regardless, that mistake unfortunately cost him what was looking like a golden opportunity to be the first Australian to finish on the podium at the Australian Grand Prix, though it was great to see him reverse his way out of the situation and finish in the points when it looked like his race might be done for good.
I said in Part 1 of my RACES post (which I recommend you check out) that Norris and McLaren’s challenge to Verstappen last year resembled Sebastian Vettel’s 2009 title challenge, rather than a 2021-type season many in the media were trying to suggest. If both Norris and the team want to take home both championships this season, they’ll have to learn from their missteps the same way Vettel and Red Bull did in 2010, and what we saw in Melbourne looked pretty positive. Unlike last year, McLaren were decisive on strategy throughout the entire race, and Norris didn’t look particularly phased even as circumstances constantly evolved during the race and pressure piled on him from every direction. After one race, it’s safe to say things are at least looking on-track.
New year, same problem for Red Bull?
Max Verstappen: 2nd (Qualified 3rd)
Liam Lawson: DNF (Qualified 18th, Pit Lane Start)
Another major point I covered in Part 1 of my RACES post was Red Bull’s decision to promote Lawson to the seat vacated by Sergio Pérez. Lawson’s existing results in F1 didn’t seem to justify that decision, but the team made it clear they were promoting him off of potential. After all the talk over the off-season hyping Lawson’s Red Bull debut, with reports comparing him favorably to Verstappen, it’s safe to say what we saw in Melbourne was…disappointing.
You can forgive Lawson for spinning out and ending his race prematurely on Lap 46 when Red Bull decided to gamble by keeping him on slicks in the rain. But that doesn’t account for what we’d seen up until that point in the race, which saw him largely struggle towards the back of the pack and fail to make significant inroads. The respective races of Kimi Antonelli (the only rookie driving a car that’s competitive on paper this year) and Yuki Tsunoda (the driver Lawson pipped to the Red Bull seat) also made Lawson’s performance look worse. Both had the types of races that Lawson should have had but, crucially, didn’t. Antonelli scythed his way through the field in his F1 debut, moving from 16th all the way up to 4th. Meanwhile, Tsunoda qualified 5th and found himself in the points during the race until the late decision to pit for intermediates cost him.
Let me make one thing: making a definitive judgement about Lawson’s ability to succeed at Red Bull based solely on Sunday’s race is ridiculous. But Red Bull’s primary problem in the Constructors’ Championship last year was a failure to get their second driver to compete at a level close to Verstappen. Australia showed that, despite the hype, the question of whether they’ve truly solved that problem will continue to loom over the team.
Mercedes hit the ground running in 2025.
George Russell: 3rd (Qualified 4th)
Kimi Antonelli: 4th (Qualified 16th)
Mercedes started 2024 well off-pace, with Australia being a complete nightmare: Hamilton had retired, while Russell crashed out in the closing stages. Australia this year, then, proved a welcome 180.
All eyes were on Antonelli, who shone on a day where his fellow rookies largely faltered. His impressive drive saw him become the second-youngest driver in F1 history to score points. The combination of Antonelli’s 4th place finish and Russell’s 3rd place finish means Mercedes leave Melbourne level with McLaren on points at the top of the Constructors’ Championship. It’s a result the team will gladly take, especially when considering the actual performance gap between McLaren and Mercedes. Russell’s qualifying time was 0.450 seconds slower than Norris’s—a country mile by F1 standards.
Both Russell and Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff struck a balanced tone over the weekend about the team’s prospects this season. But even with the gap to McLaren being as large as it currently is, Mercedes showed in Australia they are arguably the best-placed team to take the fight to the championship leaders. And who’s to say they can’t succeed in doing that? After all, everyone thought we were heading for more Red Bull dominance at the start of 2024, only for McLaren to end the season as Constructors’ Championships and emerge as new frontrunners.
Williams shine in the midfield.
Alex Albon: 5th (Qualified 6th)
Carlos Sainz: DNF (Qualified 9th)
Despite a dreary 2024, expectations for Williams heading into 2025 were so high from every corner that you’d think they were a genuine championship contender. And while no one should walk away from Australia thinking the team are true challengers to the likes of McLaren, there is no doubting they are the early stars of this season’s midfield.
All eyes heading into the weekend may have been on Sainz, who won this race last year with Ferrari. But while Sainz is the “veteran” between the two Williams drivers, Albon—a former Red Bull driver himself—is nothing like your stereotypical second driver. That was on display in Australia, as Albon out-qualified Sainz, before bringing the car home for his highest finish as a Williams driver. As for Sainz, his race may have ended on Lap 1 due to a mechanical issue with upshifts in the Safety Car Mode, but he continued to help the team from the pit wall: Team Principal James Vowles credited Sainz with the team’s decision to bring Albon into the pits on Lap 44 for intermediate tires.
This race marked Williams’ best start to a season in nine years, and nothing from the weekend suggests this result was a fluke. With two experienced drivers at the wheel and a car that looks competitive, expect to see Williams in the top 10 a lot more in 2025.
Strategy saves Aston Martin.
Lance Stroll: 6th (Qualified 13th)
Fernando Alonso: DNF (Qualified 12th)
Stroll’s 6th place finish may seem like a reason to celebrate for Aston Martin, but the team find themselves in a very different position from Williams.
Stroll was sitting in 11th when the rain hit on Lap 44, and the team’s decision to immediately bring him into the pits for intermediates was key in transforming his race. With a few cars up ahead opting incorrectly to stay out longer on slicks, Stroll found himself in the top 10 at the checkered flag. The main takeaway from the weekend about Aston Martin’s car, however, is clear: they still lack pace, something which Stroll himself was quick to point out post-race.
With that said, Stroll’s ability to deliver a solid drive will be a welcome reprieve for Aston Martin. Don’t get me wrong, one race isn’t enough to negate the fact he is still a massive underperformer. But the key to success as a midfield team is capitalizing on opportunities when chaos reigns. On a day where Aston Martin also found themselves victims of chaos—Alonso’s crash was due to the bad luck of hitting stray gravel that had been kicked onto the track—Stroll’s 6th place ensured the team didn’t squander the opening they were gifted.
Sauber’s 2025 is already better than their 2024.
Nico Hülkenberg: 7th (Qualified 17th)
Gabriel Bortoleto: DNF (Qualified 15th)
If there’s one definitive conclusion you can draw from Australia about the rest of the season, it’s this: Sauber’s 2025 has already surpassed their 2024. That’s an admittedly low bar to clear, given they scored just 4 points across the entirety of last year. But they’ve managed to do it after just one race: Hülkenberg’s 7th place in Melbourne nets the team 6 points to start 2025.
The tricky conditions meant Hülkenberg’s experience, along with the correct call from the pit wall to bring him in on Lap 44 for intermediates, were critical in Sauber obtaining their highest finish since Canada 2022 (when they were still the Alfa Romeo team). Having said that, Bortoleto still deserves applause for his race weekend. Despite the retirement, he showed respectable pace by out-qualifying his veteran teammate and dragging a car that convinced no one during pre-season testing into the second round of qualifying.
Ferrari stun—in all the wrong ways.
Charles Leclerc: 8th (Qualified 7th)
Lewis Hamilton: 10th (Qualified 8th)
It’s mortifying enough for Ferrari that, despite having both cars finish within the points, they left Australia with fewer points than Sauber—last year’s unanimous LVP—scored with just one car. That they could have easily avoided this embarrassment makes the end result all the more problematic.
The team showed great pace during the practice sessions, only to suddenly raise their car (which sacrifices performance) before qualifying. The explanation seems to be that excessive wear on the underfloor meant running the car without this modification on race day could have led to disqualification. On one hand, having a solid race only to be disqualified after for running an illegal car isn’t ideal. On the other hand, this issue was one that was very avoidable in the first place, and whether it’s only a one-race issue or an indication of a larger problem in the car’s design remains to be seen.
Ferrari’s race strategy also didn’t do them any favors. While other teams such as Red Bull and McLaren initially reported the rain shower would only last one lap, Ferrari were one of the first to say it would last longer. You would think this meant Ferrari were ready to call both cars in for intermediates when the rain hit. Instead, they had both Hamilton and Leclerc stay out—and then some. Ferrari were the last team to swap tires, doing so on Lap 47. This was three laps after the first teams had pit, and a further lap after the other holdouts had done so, which begs the question, why? Keeping slicks on while telling your drivers to expect prolonged heavy rain makes no sense. Sure, it was fun to see Hamilton lead the race for a fraction of a lap in his Ferrari debut. But the end result was decidedly less fun. On a day where Ferrari knew damage control would be key, their decision to take a gamble that was both unnecessary and unjustified was absolutely insane. For a team that appeared to have finally fixed their longstanding struggles with strategy towards the end of last year, this return to their old form was particularly unwelcome. Even if Ferrari fix the issues with their car, they definitely won’t be seriously competitive if they continue making strategic mistakes like they did in Melbourne.
Lightning doesn’t strike twice for Alpine.
Pierre Gasly: 11th (Qualified 9th)
Jack Doohan: DNF (Qualified 14th)
The last time rain severely disrupted a grand prix, Alpine took full advantage. It wasn’t to be this time around, though, with the team bringing Gasly in for intermediates late (though still earlier than Ferrari!). Although Gasly was in 8th place after the final Safety Car, he was unable to hold off both Ferraris and Piastri in the closing stretch. At the very least, the overall result was still an improvement for the team compared to 2024, when they started the season with a tractor.
Doohan spinning out on Lap 1 will only increase speculation that he could be replaced by Franco Colapinto midseason. It’s a tough task for Doohan knowing there’s a driver waiting in the wings who has already proven himself in F1. That said, there’s no reason for Alpine to panic yet over one wet race. Plenty of other rookies struggled during the race, and despite their improvements with the car, Alpine are still far from being in a position where both drivers are expected to consistently score points.
Heartbreak (and a name change) for Racing Bulls.
Yuki Tsunoda: 12th (Qualified 5th)
Isack Hadjar: DNS (Qualified 11th)
Yes, the team known colloquially as RB last season will now be called “Racing Bulls” for no other reason besides the fact that—shocker—calling the team “RB” resonated with precisely no one. The longtime F1 fan in me longs for a return to the “Toro Rosso” name the team had from 2006-2019, but at this point I’ll just have to live with the disappointment.
Luckily (or unluckily, given what happened), the first race of the year offered more to talk about than just the name change for Toro Rosso Racing Bulls. The top line is pretty brutal: Hadjar spun out on the formation lap, ending his F1 debut before it officially began, and the late call for intermediates saw Tsunoda end the race out of the top 10. However, there are genuine positives for the team to take away. Hadjar qualified the highest of all the rookies, and Tsunoda put in an amazing performance to qualify top 5 and was holding position during the race until the botched strategy call. It’ll be interesting to see how both drivers perform for the rest of the season, but things will become especially fascinating if Tsunoda keeps this level up. Red Bull are no strangers to a midseason driver swap, and if Lawson doesn’t perform by the time we hit the first European races in May, odds are we could be in line for Tsunoda suiting up along Verstappen.
A weekend to forget for Haas.
Esteban Ocon: 13th (Qualified 19th)
Ollie Bearman: 14th (Qualified 20th)
Melbourne was not a great race for Omakase Formula’s 2024 Team of the Year.
Haas struggled for pace the entire weekend, which was especially concerning because neither Ocon nor Bearman could explain why afterwards. But on a day where 30% of the grid crashed out, both cars finishing the race is a huge bonus. Having full race data from both cars will provide the team with insights that’ll hopefully allow them to identify and solve whatever plagued them this past weekend.