Lando Norris Claims Australian GP Win, But Lewis Hamilton Struggles

Lando Norris drew first blood in the race to the Formula 1 title as he won a chaotic Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on Sunday.

The Briton finished ahead of reigning world champion Max Verstappen, with the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli third and fourth respectively.

Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri could only manage ninth on home soil after spinning in the rain that wreaked havoc on Albert Park, while Lewis Hamilton came in 10th on his Ferrari debut, two places behind teammate Charles Leclerc.

Alex Albon was fifth in the Williams, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg sixth and seventh respectively.

McLaren ended the season as the fastest car on the grid and in Melbourne it picked up where it had left off, dominating the qualifying session with a front row lock-out before Norris edged out Verstappen in the rain on Sunday.

Here’s what we learnt from a frenetic season opener, before the season moves to China this week.

Lando Norris and McLaren deliver

The season opener in Melbourne could have hardly gone better for McLaren and Lando Norris.

The Briton took pole-position and then held his nerve during a chaotic race to capitalize on his car’s superiority and take out the first win of the season.

The fact Norris described it as a “stressful but rewarding” race was telling.

McLaren ended last season as by far the fastest car on the grid, but Norris ultimately fell short of dethroning Max Verstappen in the title race as the Dutchman claimed a fourth consecutive drivers’ championship.

That, as the 25-year-old acknowledged, was partly due to McLaren let a number of races slip through its grasp from winning positions. But in the torrential rain in Melbourne, Norris and the Papaya were flawless.

“We worked a lot over the winter to prepare for a race like this, because it’s where we threw away a lot of opportunities last season – Canada, Silverstone, where we were not the best at preparing and knowing how decisive we’ve got to be,” he said.

“Today we were very, very decisive, calling to box five metres before I boxed. But it was the right call in the end, and that won us the race.”

Norris had planned to pit as soon as it rained and did so, while Verstappen stayed out but ultimately lost time as the rain got heavier. Races and championships can be decided on such fine margins.

A difficult debut for Lewis Hamilton

After a 13-month wait, Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari debut was a largely underwhelming affair with the Briton finishing 10th.

The seven-time world champion qualified in eighth place on Saturday and briefly led proceedings on race day, before a botched strategy call saw him drop down the pack in the closing stages.

Hamilton said Ferrari left it too late to pit him with 13 laps left, with Verstappen and Norris having stopped one and three laps earlier respectively.

“It pelted down just in the last two laps or something, it was coming down, and that’s the moment we probably should have come in,” he said.

The lack of clarity over strategy would be a concern for Hamilton, given Ferrari have developed an unhealthy reputation for muddling their decisions over the past few seasons.

“It was the first time we have to communicate between the pit wall and car, we can do a better job, it was not a clean one at all,” said team principal Fred Vasseur.

“We will have to learn a lot for next weekend and improve the communication.”

But aside from pit wall mistakes, Ferrari found itself well behind the McLarens long before rain became a factor.

Charles Leclerc qualified one spot ahead of Hamilton and finished the race eighth, but never had the pace to trouble the leaders on Sunday and spun before recovering to pass his teammate in the closing stages.

Hamilton and Vasseur, however, remain confident the Scuderia is a lot closer to McLaren and Red Bull than the race showed.

“The real picture of the performance is more what we saw on Friday and Saturday but even then McLaren is one step ahead,” the latter said.

Hamilton added: “I do think in the actual car, there is a lot more performance, I just don’t think we unlocked it this week.”

Ferrari can bounce back immediately in China later this week.

Kimi Antonelli the pick of the rookies

Andrea Kimi Antonelli was the pick of the rookies on Sunday, finishing fourth on his Formula 1 debut after qualifying 16th.

Filling Hamilton’s shoes at Mercedes would be a nigh-on impossible task for anyone, let alone an 18-year-old at his first experience in Formula 1. But the Italian showed a composure that belied his age to calmly move up the pack as chaos unfolded around him at Albert Park.

The showing vindicated Toto Wolff’s decision to choose the teenager ahead of more experienced drivers this off-season.

“He took it the right way, wheeled it in one by one, showed the pace when he had no traffic and eventually ended up fourth, and that’s impressive,” the Mercedes team principal said.

“It was very impressive to see, and it shows he has a good future as long as the trajectory keeps being where it is.”

Antonelli was one of the six rookies on the grid and the only one along with Oliver Bearman, who finished 14th, to complete the race.

Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar crashed on the formation lap and was visibly distraught as he made his way back to the pits, before Jack Doohan marred his debut in his home race by crashing on the opening lap.

Liam Lawson’s Red Bull debut ended as he spun with 13 laps to go, while Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto crashed late in the race.

It was a timely reminder, if ever one was needed, that the learning curve in Formula 1 remains as steep as ever.