lando norris oscar piastri win australia and china grand prix formula one 2025 hamilton wins sprint race

Two consecutive, action-packed race weekends were the perfect way to start the new and highly awaited Formula One season.

Australia and China had the prized opportunity to reveal what’s in store for the 2025 calendar, ending a nearly three-month-long wait.

Among the 20 names that lined up on the Albert Park grid were a few new ones, and the Australian Grand Prix provided the perfect stage for a stellar introduction. The paddock went back Down Under for the curtain-raiser, and Melbourne welcomed them with plenty of showers.

It was one of the greatest tests of strategy and skill. With the weather and rain proving difficult to predict, teams and drivers had to nail tough calls, tyres, and timings to be the best of the rest. And it was Lando Norris who prevailed, giving McLaren a boost to its title defence campaign.

Off the mark

The domination from defending champion McLaren was one that most expected, considering the high it ended on last year and strong performances in pre-season testing. The fact that McLaren had the same driver duo from last season meant that good communication — the key to cracking tough races — was ever-present.

Norris, last year’s runner-up, ensured mistakes of the past would not haunt him, acing the strategy calls and a difficult drive to claim the first win of the year. The 57-lap encounter had crashes and Safety Cars galore, but the Briton battled through, even keeping a charging Max Verstappen behind, a bonus to a hard-fought victory.

It was only towards the closing stages that the championship holder Verstappen caught up to his rival. Up until lap 44, McLaren looked on course for a 1-2 finish, with the hometown favourite Oscar Piastri closely following his teammate. But once the rain set in, the hearts of the Australian faithful sank as he spun and tumbled down the order.

While Piastri recovered to ninth, with incredible reversing to fish himself out of the grass, it allowed the likes of Mercedes’ George Russell to claim the final step of the podium. Crossing the line behind him was his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the Silver Arrows’ replacement for Lewis Hamilton.

He finished a solid fourth in his debut weekend, ahead of the seven-time champion himself. Hamilton, who made the switch to Ferrari, found the going tough, crossing the line in a disappointing 10th, while his teammate Charles Leclerc settled for eighth.

It was also anticlimactic for the debutant lot, with four of the six not finishing the race — most lost control and went off the track, with Oliver Bearman of Haas being the only other rookie to cross the finish line (14th).

Those who conquered the Australian challenge headed to China with plenty of confidence, but for the ones returning to the drawing board, the luxury of time evaded them. The Shanghai Circuit was raring to go.

Redemption arc

There were barely five days between the two races, but the paddock was constantly buzzing, more so because of new FIA directives and freight delays. However, the excitement and expectations of a sprint weekend eventually overshadowed it all.

With only one practice session to iron out the creases, the weekend once again looked like it belonged to McLaren. Norris and Piastri, who were among the top three during Friday’s FP1, were contenders for claiming pole for the first sprint of the season. But the short race format saw the young duo come undone by a resurgent Hamilton in red.

The 40-year-old claimed a first-ever sprint victory for himself and Ferrari, capitalising on his maiden pole with the Italian side and taking the chequered flag after a long wait. He pulled away from second-placed Piastri and silenced those who were vocal about Hamilton’s supposed struggles settling into a new team.

Lewis Hamilton celebrates his sprint win.
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Meanwhile, Piastri’s improved finish meant his side headed into qualifying with positivity and points. And the 23-year-old wasn’t done just yet. He smashed the lap record to seal his spot in the front of the grid for the first time in his career. Piastri was now given the task of converting his pole to a win, and he did just that.

The Chinese Grand Prix witnessed the Australian execute a difficult one-stop strategy, leading his teammate to the podium for a McLaren 1-2. Norris, who was error-prone throughout the weekend, capitalised at the start and fought the gird and his car — as he developed a brake issue — to hold on to second place.

Piastri’s defensive effort was required only at the start, to fend off Russell, who had a productive, point-scoring outing. The Mercedes driver made it back-to-back podiums with another third-place finish, with Verstappen coming fourth.

What looked like a disheartening fifth and sixth for the Ferrari team turned into a disappointing disqualification from the main race. A car weight breach for Leclerc and excessive skid wear for sprint-winner Hamilton capped a forgettable performance. Haas and Williams benefitted as both pairs were bumped up and scored crucial points.

There were plenty of on-track and off-track activities for the paddock to ponder before they arrive in Japan for the third round. Suzuka, a popular track in Asia that draws large passionate crowds, has moved up the calendar and promises to be another eventful affair.