Verstappen comes up just short, Norris wins wet Australian Grand Prix

The McLaren driver started the weekend off in impressive style by taking pole position ahead of Oscar Piastri by a tenth of a second, while Max Verstappen rounded out the top three.

But while qualifying took place in nice sunny conditions, wet, changeable conditions descended on Albert Park. Unfortunately for rookie Isack Hadjar, his first race ended before it began after he lost control of his Racing Bulls machine, crashing into the wall on the formation lap and abandoning the start.

After a ten-minute delay, the 57-lap race got underway, with Norris holding onto the lead ahead of Piastri and Verstappen. But it wasn't just Hadjar that struggled with the conditions.

In his debut for Williams, Carlos Sainz crashed out on the opening lap, along with Alpine rookie Jack Doohan. Gabriel Bortoleto was another rookie to crash out, along with Fernando Alonso and Liam Lawson, with the latter struggling on his Red Bull Racing debut.

McLaren looked set to come away with a fine one-two finish to open up the campaign, but home favourite Piastri had some issues in the rain. After losing control on the intermediate tyres at the second-to-last corner, he beached his car and dropped down to P13, where he could then only recover to take P9.

At the front of the grid, Norris barely put a foot wrong all race, with a brief excursion off track the only bump in the road on the way to victory.

Verstappen took the lead after the Brit went off track, but Norris quickly regained the position and went on to win, becoming the first McLaren driver to win in Australia since Jenson Button in 2012.

In challenging conditions, it was a hugely impressive win for Norris after a disappointing end to the 2024 season, highlighting his bid for the 2025 title.

Verstappen finished just a second behind the McLaren man, while George Russell rounded out the podium with a P3 finish. Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli had a stunning debut race, recovering from P16 to take fourth place.