Verstappen Pushes Norris All The Way To Finish Second At Formula One Season Opener.
18-03-2025 06:53 - MOTORSPORT
Max Verstappen battled hard to finish just behind winner Lando Norris at the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship's first stop in Melbourne - a dramatic Australian Grand Prix that featured crashes, safety cars and late torrential rain that caused chaos.
The Dutchman started out third behind the two McLarens and moved briefly into the lead late on after Oscar Piastri spun off at the penultimate corner, however needed to pit for a tyre change due to the rain that allowed Norris back in for the victory.
Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate Liam Lawson managed 46 laps before his race ended prematurely with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls' Yuki Tsunoda finishing 12th after his new teammate Isak Hadjar spun out of Turn 2 on the formation lap
QUOTES
Oracle Red Bull Racing
MAX VERSTAPPEN - 2nd
"It was a good result for us and an enjoyable but hectic race. The conditions were fairly difficult and slippery but we managed to keep it out of the wall and stay out of trouble, which was the most important thing, so I am happy with that. It was hard for us to pass the McLarens, and we were struggling with the tyres overheating and tyre degradation. I think this is even more evident on intermediates as the compound is even softer than the slicks. They were better at controlling the temperature of the tyres and were pulling away from us quite easily, so it will help a lot if we work to keep our tyres in a better window. However, we scored 18 more points than we did last time we were in Melbourne, so this is an improvement on last year and was fun in the end. Even if we pitted later we would have been P2 so I am happy with the result. We only have a few days before we are in China so not sure how much we will be able to find and turn around but will work hard to improve. Again, it is the first race of the season and we went for it and learnt a lot, so this is a positive start."
LIAM LAWSON - DNF
"This whole weekend was pretty terrible. Today we were too slow at the start and then we gambled. It nearly worked, but it wasn't to be. Starting from the pitlane was tough and we just didn't really have the speed in the first stint on the inter. We struggled with the fronts too much, so we will analyse and look at that in detail before the next race. On slick tyres it was quite competitive for that couple of laps but then it started raining again. We took a chance staying out on the medium and hoping half the track would stay dry. We knew that sector three was bad but we thought sector one would stay a little bit drier, so we risked it but it was bucketing down with rain. At that point I had backed out of pushing because it was so wet and I was just trying to stay on track. It has been a pretty horrible weekend and a struggle as a whole, but we take plenty of learning. For that I am grateful and I am just looking forward to going to China and resetting."
CHRISTIAN HORNER - CEO and Team Principal
"That was a great race. It was always going to be tricky in those conditions. I think strategically we called it right; Max had a very good start but the McLarens at that time were super strong and pulled out a gap. Then the rain came and we made the right call to get out on the slicks at the right time and we took a slight gamble to get the over cut. It nearly worked and then we had the restart and Max so very nearly stole it off Lando. Credit to him and McLaren though, they stuck it out and took the victory. It was not the start Liam would have wanted this weekend. Luck was not on his side. He is a strong driver though and will already be on his way to preparing for China; bouncing back. All in all, it was a good start to the season at a track we traditionally do not perform well at. China will be a bit more measured and will be a chance to see a truer reflection of performance. Excited to see what comes."
Visa Cash App Racing Bulls
YUKI TSUNODA - 12th
"The timing of the pit didn't go our way today, it was too late and suddenly I dropped to P11 after the Safety Car. The pace was there and we didn't make many mistakes, until the last bit of rain. I did what I can, I was pretty happy with how my performance was. We'll definitely revise what happened and learn from this for the future. We need to make sure we're not making the same mistakes, especially with the field being so tight this year, every single point is very important. It's not ideal, but we can take a lot of positives from this weekend; we had pace and if we can maximise performance, we can have a good race weekend, we'll just have to keep performing like this and come back strong."
ISACK HADJAR - DNS
"I feel embarrassed today, and I can only learn from my mistake and apologise to the team. There were tricky conditions out there, and from the installation laps, I felt very low grip and poor confidence. In the formation lap, I tried to prepare the tyres as much as I could, but unfortunately, I had a spin and the car was unsavable; I just felt like a passenger before hitting the wall. Now I look ahead to be ready to race in China next week."
LAURENT MEKIES - Team Principal
"A disappointing outcome to what had been a very strong weekend up until the race itself. Lining up P5 and P11 on the grid was a reward for all the hard work over the winter. Overall, both drivers did an incredible job, with Yuki having made a further step forward and Isack taking an approach that could not be faulted. It's clear the field is even more closely matched than last year, but we are definitely in the fight. As for the race, Yuki was performing very strongly until the rain returned. There is nowhere to hide, we got our last call wrong, and it cost us very dearly today. For this we apologise to Yuki; the gamble to keep him out didn't pay off but it's part of the harshness of motorsport. There is only one way to improve, by working harder together as a team and to come back stronger. As for Isack, he will learn from this and turn his frustration into good energy for the next race. We will be here to support him over the next few days before Shanghai and not let this cloud all the positives we can take from this weekend."
The Dutchman started out third behind the two McLarens and moved briefly into the lead late on after Oscar Piastri spun off at the penultimate corner, however needed to pit for a tyre change due to the rain that allowed Norris back in for the victory.
Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate Liam Lawson managed 46 laps before his race ended prematurely with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls' Yuki Tsunoda finishing 12th after his new teammate Isak Hadjar spun out of Turn 2 on the formation lap
QUOTES
Oracle Red Bull Racing
MAX VERSTAPPEN - 2nd
"It was a good result for us and an enjoyable but hectic race. The conditions were fairly difficult and slippery but we managed to keep it out of the wall and stay out of trouble, which was the most important thing, so I am happy with that. It was hard for us to pass the McLarens, and we were struggling with the tyres overheating and tyre degradation. I think this is even more evident on intermediates as the compound is even softer than the slicks. They were better at controlling the temperature of the tyres and were pulling away from us quite easily, so it will help a lot if we work to keep our tyres in a better window. However, we scored 18 more points than we did last time we were in Melbourne, so this is an improvement on last year and was fun in the end. Even if we pitted later we would have been P2 so I am happy with the result. We only have a few days before we are in China so not sure how much we will be able to find and turn around but will work hard to improve. Again, it is the first race of the season and we went for it and learnt a lot, so this is a positive start."
LIAM LAWSON - DNF
"This whole weekend was pretty terrible. Today we were too slow at the start and then we gambled. It nearly worked, but it wasn't to be. Starting from the pitlane was tough and we just didn't really have the speed in the first stint on the inter. We struggled with the fronts too much, so we will analyse and look at that in detail before the next race. On slick tyres it was quite competitive for that couple of laps but then it started raining again. We took a chance staying out on the medium and hoping half the track would stay dry. We knew that sector three was bad but we thought sector one would stay a little bit drier, so we risked it but it was bucketing down with rain. At that point I had backed out of pushing because it was so wet and I was just trying to stay on track. It has been a pretty horrible weekend and a struggle as a whole, but we take plenty of learning. For that I am grateful and I am just looking forward to going to China and resetting."
CHRISTIAN HORNER - CEO and Team Principal
"That was a great race. It was always going to be tricky in those conditions. I think strategically we called it right; Max had a very good start but the McLarens at that time were super strong and pulled out a gap. Then the rain came and we made the right call to get out on the slicks at the right time and we took a slight gamble to get the over cut. It nearly worked and then we had the restart and Max so very nearly stole it off Lando. Credit to him and McLaren though, they stuck it out and took the victory. It was not the start Liam would have wanted this weekend. Luck was not on his side. He is a strong driver though and will already be on his way to preparing for China; bouncing back. All in all, it was a good start to the season at a track we traditionally do not perform well at. China will be a bit more measured and will be a chance to see a truer reflection of performance. Excited to see what comes."
Visa Cash App Racing Bulls
YUKI TSUNODA - 12th
"The timing of the pit didn't go our way today, it was too late and suddenly I dropped to P11 after the Safety Car. The pace was there and we didn't make many mistakes, until the last bit of rain. I did what I can, I was pretty happy with how my performance was. We'll definitely revise what happened and learn from this for the future. We need to make sure we're not making the same mistakes, especially with the field being so tight this year, every single point is very important. It's not ideal, but we can take a lot of positives from this weekend; we had pace and if we can maximise performance, we can have a good race weekend, we'll just have to keep performing like this and come back strong."
ISACK HADJAR - DNS
"I feel embarrassed today, and I can only learn from my mistake and apologise to the team. There were tricky conditions out there, and from the installation laps, I felt very low grip and poor confidence. In the formation lap, I tried to prepare the tyres as much as I could, but unfortunately, I had a spin and the car was unsavable; I just felt like a passenger before hitting the wall. Now I look ahead to be ready to race in China next week."
LAURENT MEKIES - Team Principal
"A disappointing outcome to what had been a very strong weekend up until the race itself. Lining up P5 and P11 on the grid was a reward for all the hard work over the winter. Overall, both drivers did an incredible job, with Yuki having made a further step forward and Isack taking an approach that could not be faulted. It's clear the field is even more closely matched than last year, but we are definitely in the fight. As for the race, Yuki was performing very strongly until the rain returned. There is nowhere to hide, we got our last call wrong, and it cost us very dearly today. For this we apologise to Yuki; the gamble to keep him out didn't pay off but it's part of the harshness of motorsport. There is only one way to improve, by working harder together as a team and to come back stronger. As for Isack, he will learn from this and turn his frustration into good energy for the next race. We will be here to support him over the next few days before Shanghai and not let this cloud all the positives we can take from this weekend."
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