Race One - 2025 Australian GP [Melbourne Park]

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Has there ever been a time like this when the entire F1 community was so eager for the season opener to arrive? We go into the start of the season with no clear indication of the true pecking order of the grid. While most would agree McLaren appears to be ahead, most would also not be too surprised if that turns out not to be the case by the end of the race at Melbourne Park.

This is one season that could be full of surprises, drama and changes of fortune all the way to Abu Dhabi. While most have an idea which team might win the Constructor's championship. Very few can confidently say who would win the driver's championship.

It is very tight at the sharp end of the grid. So tight, such that there is very little room for mistakes. A bad weekend could spell trouble for any of the contending drivers. This is a season that demands, perfection, consistency and determination. This is a season that would be impatient of excuses, where luck could make an unlikely champion to emerge from obscurity. Or for long overdue championship contenders to step into the limelight.

This season is the stuff of folklore and the making of legends. As the world holds its breath on the prospects of World War Three, we can, in the interim distract ourselves on a season full of such promise to fully entertain.

So l dare you to name your drivers for the podium of this Australian GP.

Ferrari have usually done well in Albert Park, winning four of the last six races there.
So I would not be surprised to see at least one driver dressed in red up on the podium on Sunday. Maybe Hamilton will even have a fairy-tale start to his Ferrari career, much like Mansell (another Brit) had in 1989.
McLaren haven't won down under since Button did the deed in 2012, but I would still expect one Papaya-clad driver on the rostrum as well.
Last place on my podium will go either to a second Ferrari or McLaren or Russell's Mercedes.

So just to upset the Aussies, I'll go for a pommy lockout of Hamilton-Norris-Russell :D

Are we thinking someone will get their first ever win, or will a former winner take the top step?

Rain is likely to interrupt the race on Sunday but it doesn't matter how the weather will be during the race weekend, there will be plenty to enjoy for the fans in and around the circuit with a range of activities and events are happening including Q&A sessions, racing simulators, live music performances from the likes of Baker Boy and The Living End and much more.

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Originally Posted by N. Jones

Are we thinking someone will get their first ever win, or will a former winner take the top step?

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I'll predict 1)Red Bull, 2)Ferrari, 3)Mercedes, 4)Ferrari, 5)Williams, 6) a rookie.

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Originally Posted by Used to be Starter

I'll predict 1)Red Bull, 2)Ferrari, 3)Mercedes, 4)Ferrari, 5)Williams, 6) a rookie.

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Well that wasn't very close, but we knew it was going to be tight this season.

At least you got close with Williams.

Alex and Yuki ahead of both Ferrari's has to be the shock of the season opener. If it rains as expected, there could be some changes through the field, and I suspect that Max might be able to overcome the McLarens.

Shocker for Ferrari at qualifying. 0.7sec from Norris suggests they have messed up somewhere along the line. But the underrated drivers shined. Albon seriously smashed Sainz. Yuki stuck a finger up at Redbull as their choice crashed out in Q1. But the really sweet thing for these drivers is that they both out-qualified both Ferrari cars in the process.

McLaren seems to be on a roll, continuing where they left off last season. Solid One-Two at the front for what may be a rainy Sunday race. Interestingly, Verstappen is right behind both McLarens for a wet race. Who would bet against Verstappen winning the race tomorrow? But the gap of 0.3sec, on one lap pace suggests the McLaren may be in a league of their own this season. Russell in the Mercedes is thereabout. A bit disappointing for them as most would expect them to be ahead of Redbull based on the pace shown in pre-season testing and free practice sessions.

I watched Lawson fight the car all the way around his best lap and saw all the things that Perez was struggling with happening to this young driver. The problems with Redbull's second garage continue unabated. Surprisingly, no rookie made it into the top ten on this first qualifying. Antonelli and Hadjah would be most disappointed of a missed opportunity.

For Ferrari, they have work to do to unlock the full potential of their new car. Ferrari cars are typically crap in the rain, hence a rainy Sunday race spells more woes for the Scarlet team. It is going to be an eventful race it would seem.

Hamilton showed impressive improvement over the weekend. He was 0.6s behind in FP1, 0.43s in FP2 and 0.2s in Quali.

Fun qualifying. I am happy to see Williams be able to carry over from the preseason testing.

I am interested in seeing how the Piastri-Norris battle goes. Could this be the next version of the Hamilton-Rosberg fight from the Silver Arrows War of 2016?

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Originally Posted by F1nKS

Fun qualifying. I am happy to see Williams be able to carry over from the preseason testing.

I am interested in seeing how the Piastri-Norris battle goes. Could this be the next version of the Hamilton-Rosberg fight from the Silver Arrows War of 2016?

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I guess we will find out at lights out tomorrow.

It was classy for Hamilton father to console Hadjar after he crashed out on the formation lap.

Rookies dropping like flies - Doohan out on the first lap.

Sainz crashes under the safety car.

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Originally Posted by F1nKS

Sainz crashes under the safety car.

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Very odd race but equally very entertaining.

Antonelli shined today, he is going to be special this season. I expected a woeful race for Ferrari, for a brief moment there, they had the lead of the race and someone on their pit wall had a brain-fade and asked them to pit. Missed opportunity, but l expect they would have a chat about it and hopefully do better in China. But if this is what we would be seeing from Ferrari this season, they are unlikely to win any of the championships on the table.

Norris one, Piastri zero. The inter-teammate battle takes an unlucky turn for the Auzzie. Albert Park has never been kind to Australian drivers in F1.

The Redbull is actually a better car; in Verstappen's hand at least, than we expected. It was good to see that Mercedes also have genuine pace to fight for poduims and wins.

Ferrari would come out of this weekend feeling somewhat bruised. The car is some way off where they expected it to be. And they still have a dodgy strategist on their pitwall. Even in the more experienced Leclerc's hands, the car was twitchy and without the right balance to unleash the true potential of that car. We have to see how they fair in China to really gauge if this car is a dud or not.

It was a fun race. I was able to stay awake for the whole thing.

Winners:


Norris handled the pressure magnificently, especially considering that either Piastri or Max pressured him the whole race.

Max - he took what the race gave him, he pushed hard but, was not overly aggressive.

Mercedes—Russell and Antonelli can't complain about 4/5 finish. Antonelli was the only rookie who stayed out of trouble. Mercedes looks to have a talented team of drivers for the future.

Albon-Williams shows at least the preseason, and practice results were not flukes. Too bad about Sainz crash.

Stroll/Hulkenberg - they stayed out of trouble and picked up nice points for the team.

Losers

Piastri—his young age showed that he may have been too aggressive. A second-place finish, knowing he was possibly faster than Norris, would have been a good result.

The Rookies - Hadjar/Doohan/Bortoleto/Bearman - a challenging environment to start your season in.

Sainz - It will be interesting to hear whether his wreck was a driver error or a car failure.

Lawson - He had a very bad race and weekend.

Ferrari - probably not the start they wanted. With the conditions, it is easy to double-guess their strategy calls, and you could just say it was "bad luck" but also don't have a good track record on strategy. Hamilton with the right call could have been P4 and he knew it and told his people so.

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Originally Posted by F1nKS

It was a fun race. I was able to stay awake for the whole thing.

Winners:


Norris handled the pressure magnificently, especially considering that either Piastri or Max pressured him the whole race.

Max - he took what the race gave him, he pushed hard but, was not overly aggressive.

Mercedes—Russell and Antonelli can't complain about 4/5 finish. Antonelli was the only rookie who stayed out of trouble. Mercedes looks to have a talented team of drivers for the future.

Albon-Williams shows at least the preseason, and practice results were not flukes. Too bad about Sainz crash.

Stroll/Hulkenberg - they stayed out of trouble and picked up nice points for the team.

Losers

Piastri—his young age showed that he may have been too aggressive. A second-place finish, knowing he was possibly faster than Norris, would have been a good result.

The Rookies - Hadjar/Doohan/Bortoleto/Bearman - a challenging environment to start your season in.

Sainz - It will be interesting to hear whether his wreck was a driver error or a car failure.

Lawson - He had a very bad race and weekend.

Ferrari - probably not the start they wanted. With the conditions, it is easy to double-guess their strategy calls, and you could just say it was "bad luck" but also don't have a good track record on strategy. Hamilton with the right call could have been P4 and he knew it and told his people so.

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Pretty spot on if you ask me.

The only thing I'd add mention of is Yuki. He held his own, and almost pulled off what Albon did. Right up until the end he was keeping things under control, then it went south. I really wouldn't count him in either winner or loser category, since he almost pulled some good points. Hopefully he bounces back and has confidence in the car for future races.



And really the track conditions were changing so much I don't know that the trend will continue. It was really hot for qually, and fairly hot for the race as well. With rare passing opportunities, many cars were stuck where they qualified. With cooler weather and dry tracks, we might sort out the strong and weak points of the cars.

Good race. Sadly, most of the rookies showed that they are rookies. Hopefully Ferrari can figure out how to get near the fight up front.

Oh, and I'm not going to sugar coat it (hide your children):

Fuck Helmut Marko.

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Originally Posted by N. Jones

Good race. Sadly, most of the rookies showed that they are rookies. Hopefully Ferrari can figure out how to get near the fight up front.

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To be fair, it was the worst possible condition for a first proper race for any rookies. Which is why Antonelli has shown he is going to be very special. But the rookies that crashed were in the good company of Alonso and Sainz, both very experienced racers. I felt for Hadjah who did not even make it to the grid for the start of the race. Unfortunately, It would not go unnoticed. He can't make any more mistakes like that or we might see a swap out before we reach mid-season.