The 2025 F1 season kicks off in Albert Park for the first time since 2019, and they have two Aussie drivers (PIA and DOO) this year. It’s also the first chance to see HAM running in a Ferrari. (I’m still torn whether to support HAM despite him being in a Ferrari, or the Mercedes team even though they have a rookie, or maybe McLaren; the easy answer is not Red Bull)
Qualifying
Air temperature 32°C; track 38°C; humidity 48%
The forecast for the race calls for rain
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
OCO is first on track, follow by teammate BEA but the pit lane is packed as everyone tries to get out ASAP
On his out lap BEA reports a problem with his gearbox and returns to the pit lane
RUS 1:17.210 – he’s on medium tyres but everyone else is on softs
DOO 1:16.999
HUL 1:16.925
ALO 1:16.546
LEC 1:16.453
NOR 1:16.003
(PIA P2)
10mins left; BEA is still in the garage
RUS goes P4 on medium tyres
Brief yellow flag – LAW locked up, ran across the gravel in Turn 3
5mins left; bottom 5 are GAS, HUL, LAW, OCO, BEA
The body language in the Haas garage don’t look promising for fixing BEA’s gearbox
Looks like an issue with the front ride height on ANT’s Mercedes – trouble is adjusting the suspension will result in a penalty
LAW pushing too hard, lucky untidy; runs wide in the penultimate corner and aborts his lap
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are BOR, HUL, LAW, OCO, BEA
OCO P19
HUL P16
BOR P15, relegating ANT to P16
Back of the grid: ANT, HUL, LAW, OCO, BEA
Qualifying session 2
VER 1:15.688
PIA 1:15.468
ALO and SAI run wide in Turn 10, touching the gravel
Mercedes just confirmed ANT broke part of the front bodywork in Q1
DOO has his lap time deleted
5mins left; bottom 5 are HAD, STR, BOT, ALO, DOO
BOR hit a kerb, the tail flicked out but he did really well to catch it and get the Sauber back under control
Yellow flag – HAM has spun
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are HAD, STR, DOO, BOR, ALO
HAD P11
NOR 1:15.415
ALO P12
Middle of the grid: HAD, ALO, STR, DOO, BOR
Top 10 shootout is between NOR, PIA, VER, RUS, LEC, HAM, SAI, TSU, ALB, GAS
RUS and LEC incident noted – Turn 4 impeding – replay shows RUS on a slow lap getting in LEC’s way … no further investigation
Qualifying session 3
Radio from GAS commenting “It’s very dark”
PIA 1:16.147 but he touched the grass in the penultimate corner
NOR 1:15.921 … but his time is deleted for running wide in Turn 4
LEC 1:15.755
RUS 1:15.695
HAM P4
VER 1:15.671
SAI P6
GAS P6
ALB P5
TSU P6
Order after the first run: VER, RUS, LEC, PIA, ALB, TSU, HAM, GAS, SAI, NOR
3mins left; everyone’s heading out of the garages for a final run
PIA 1:15.180
NOR 1:15.096
RUS P3
VER P3
HAM P6
ALB P8
SAI P8
ALB P5
TSU P5
Front of the grid: NOR, PIA, VER, RUS, TSU, ALB, LEC, HAM, GAS, SAI
Provisional grid: NOR, PIA, VER, RUS, TSU, ALB, LEC, HAM, GAS, SAI, HAD, ALO, STR, DOO, BOR, ANT, HUL, LAW, OCO, BEA
Race
Grid: NOR, PIA, VER, RUS, TSU, ALB, LEC, HAM, GAS, SAI, HAD, ALO, STR, DOO, BOR, ANT, HUL, LAW*, OCO, BEA*
*LAW will start from the pit lane after a rear wing change; BEA also starting from the pit lane
Pit lane is open; drivers can make their way to the grid
Everyone starting on intermediate tyres except STR on full wets
NOR leads everyone away on the formation lap
HAD has spun in Turn 2 and put the RB in the wall, breaking the rear wing
The start has been aborted so the teams can come onto the grid and cover the cars from the rain
A marshal is consoling HAD who is still crying
As HAD walks back to the garage, HAM’s dad intercepts him and puts his arm around him
Ferrari tell LEC they expect rain in a few mins, then a short break before more light rain
Sounds like Aston Martin have added a gurney flag and put inters on STR’s car
NOR leads everyone away on the second formation lap
LAW and BEA return to the pit lane
01/57: NOR leads through Turn 1 but VER is fighting with PIA
VER takes P2
DOO has hit the wall in Turn 6, wiped out his rear wing and is stuck in the middle of the track
Safety Car deployed
SAI has put his Williams in the wall in the final corner, breaking his front right suspension
02[SC]: SC will lead the remaining 17 cars through the pit lane
A few drivers made progress before the incidents; order is NOR, VER, PIA, RUS, LEC, TSU, ALB, HAM, GAS, ALO
04[SC]: LAW and BEA stop for new intermediate tyres
05/57[SC]: NOR, VER, PIA, RUS, LEC, TSU, ALB, HAM, GAS, ALO, STR, HUL, ANT, BOR, OCO, LAW, BEA; out: SAI, DOO, NAD
VER is annoyingly all over NOR’s tail despite being behind the SC
07[SC]: SC in at the end of this lap
08: Everyone cleanly through Turn 1
ALB closing on TSU
ALO noted for SC infringement
TSU also under investigation
09: First racing lap completed!
NOR fastest lap 1:36.
10/57: NOR, VER, PIA, RUS, LEC, TSU, ALB, HAM, GAS, ALO, STR, HUL, ANT, BOR, OCO, LAW, BEA
BOR has reported a long brake pedal
11: NOR f/lap 1:32.130
ALO and TSU are under investigation for leaving too big a gap under the SC
12: PIA f/lap 1:31.959
DRS enabled
13: PIA f/lap 1:31.2 as he has DRS behind VER
14: Radio for NOR telling him there’s more rain coming
15/57: NOR, VER, PIA, RUS, LEC, TSU, ALB, HAM, GAS, ALO, STR, HUL, ANT, BOR, OCO, LAW, BEA
ANT takes P12 from HUL
VER now close enough to have DRS behind NOR
16: NOR f/lap
Rain has started again
ANT touched the grass, spun but gets it back on track, now behind HUL
17: VER locks a wheel, runs wide; PIA takes P2
ANT inside HUL to re-take P12
18: HAM and ALB noted for SC infringement
VER says his tyres are dead
19: HAM and ALB now under investigation
ALO’s investigation has cleared
LAW takes P15 from OCO
20/57: NOR, PIA, VER, RUS, LEC, TSU, ALB, HAM, GAS, ALO, STR, ANT, HUL, BOR, LAW, OCO, BEA
TSU, HAM and ALB all “no further action”
21: The wind and rain seem to be increasing
22: Radio for PIA telling him the rain will end in about 3 laps
23: Radio from HAM, “Lost gear sync”
25/57: NOR, PIA, VER, RUS, LEC, TSU, ALB, HAM, GAS, ALO, ANT, STR, HUL, BOR, LAW, OCO, BEA
Radio from LEC asking if there’s a leak because his seat is full of water; he’s told “it must be the water” – that clarifies everything!
26: PIA slowly closing on NOR
28: Radio for HAM but HAM says he’s got it in hand; they’re building the relationship that he had with Bono
29: PIA f/lap 1:28.629
He’s got DRS behind NOR, but NOR also has DRS as he catches some backmarkers
30/57: NOR, PIA, VER, RUS, LEC, TSU, ALB, HAM, GAS, ALO, ANT, STR, HUL, BOR, LAW, OCO, BEA
PIA is told to hold position but doesn’t seem keen to remain P2
31: HAM’s new engineer asks him to use the K1 (overtake) button but HAM says he’s not close enough
32: PIA dipped a wheel in the gravel but gets away with it
33: NOR laps LAW (P15)
Radio for PIA telling him he’s free to race, “You know the rules”
34: ALO spins, hits the wall out of Turn 7; the rear right is broken and he’s facing the wrong way, but clearly not going anywhere
SC deployed
35/57[SC]: A lot of pit stops for dry tyres; some take on hards, others take mediums
NOR, PIA, RUS, LEC, HAM, GAS, ANT, STR on hards; VER, ALB on mediums … but Haas have kept OCO and BEA on inters
37[SC]: NOR, PIA, VER, RUS, LEC, TSU, ALB, HAM, GAS, ANT, STR, HUL, BOR, OCO, BEA, LAW; out: ALO, SAI, DOO, HAD
That’s a nasty situation: a lorry moving slowly on the track as the SC and NOR approach
40/57[SC]: Lapped cars are allowed to pass the SC
Radio for NOR discussing the forecast
BEA pits; switches from inters to mediums; he rejoins the track alongside VER and struggles to keep it pointing forward
41[SC]: SC in at the end of this lap
BEA passes the SC again, so he’ll be just ahead of the race leaders at the restart
42: Radio for LEC telling him they expect “Class 3” (fairly heavy) rain in a few mins
43: DRS enabled
NOR f/lap 1:23.797
ALB all over TSU’s rear wing
44: BOR given 5-sec penalty for unsafe release
It’s raining
TSU past LEC for P5
ALB almost rear-ends LEC
NOR and PIA both off
NOR recovers and heads for the pits
PIA crosses the track but he’s stuck on the grass
45/57: VER inherits P1
NOR rejoins alongside LAW but the Red Bull blocks him
PIA finds reverse and digs his McLaren out, back onto the track and into the pits
NOR takes P6 from LAW
46: VER, HAM, GAS, TSU, LEC, NOR, LAW, RUS, ALB, STR, HUL, BOR*, OCO, PIA, BEA. (*BOR has 5-sec penalty)
47: VER pits, so HAM takes P1
GAS pits too
NOR passes LEC then takes P1 from HAM
Yellow flag – BOR and LAW are both off (looks unrelated) in the barriers
SC deployed
48[SC]: HAM pits from P2; LEC pits too
Everyone now on inters
49[SC]: NOR, VER, RUS, ALB, ANT, STR, HUL, GAS, HAM, LEC, TSU, OCO, PIA, BEA; out: LAW, BOR*, ALO, SAI, DOO, HAD
*Because BOR’s not served his 5-sec penalty, it’ll be carried over to the next race
50/57[SC]: So the only surviving rookies are ANT and BEA
Lapped cars can pass the SC
Even if it stops raining, there’s no benefit in pitting with just a few laps left
Replay shows LAW spun a couple of corners before he put it in the wall
51[SC]: SC in at the end of this lap
52: Clean restart
VER has a twitch
LEC passes teammate HAM for P9
PIA takes P12 from OCO but he did it before the line so OCO reclaims it
53: PIA past OCO and TSU for P11
54: GAS runs wide, through a puddle, letting LEC and HAM through
DRS enabled
55/57: NOR, VER, RUS, ALB, ANT, STR, HUL, LEC, HAM, GAS, PIA, TSU, OCO, BEA
PIA dives inside GAS for P10
56: VER now has DRS behind NOR
VER touches a gravel trap as he pushes hard to catch NOR
ANT takes P4 from ALB
ANT under investigation for an unsafe release
57/57: ANT given 5-sec penalty for unsafe release
PIA around HAM for P9
NOR takes the chequered flag
Provisional result: NOR, VER, RUS, ANT*, ALB, STR, HUL, LEC, PIA, HAM; GAS, TSU, OCO, BEA
*ANT’s penalty drops him to P5
DNF: LAW, BOR, ALO, SAI, DOO, HAD
NOR also had fastest lap but there’s no bonus point for it this season
Checking the FIA’s official docs, ANT’s 5-sec penalty was rescinded after appeal by Mercedes, so he’s back to P4.
Final Classification: NOR, VER, RUS, ANT, ALB, STR, HUL, LEC, PIA, HAM; GAS, TSU, OCO, BEA
[2025 calendar and driver line-up]
