Max second in chaotic first race of 2025: 'Good points and decent start'

Published on 16 March 2025 by Florence Cobben

Max Verstappen has come second in the Australian Grand Prix. The opening race of the season was chaotic, with multiple safety cars and treacherous circumstances. In the closing phases of the race, the reigning world champion came close to the win, but in the end Lando Norris was first across the finish line. George Russell completed the top three.

“It was a difficult race, of course. But at the end it was fun. Lando had a little moment on entry of (turn) six, so he lost a lot of momentum there. That’s where I got close and I got DRS. So I got close, but it’s very hard to pass around here. But it was fun – those last laps where you’re pushing and at least you’re fighting for the win. But I’m just very happy to bring it home and score good points, and this is a decent starting point for us.”

Regarding the rain at the end of the race, Max elaborates: “It started to rain a bit, and there was a bit of a panic (for the drivers); like: “Oh I need to box!” So they went in, I stayed out. The first lap… I honestly think it was alright, but then unfortunately the weather continued a bit more, on the other side of the track as well, and we then had to box. But I think at the end of the day even if we had boxed one lap earlier, we still would be in P2 anyway after that stop. I think it was worth the gamble. It was quite spicy out there with the slick tyres, but it was all right in the end.”

With regards to the car, Max says: “It is the way I expected it to be, so you can see in that first stint we were lacking a bit of pace compared to the McLaren. But it’s still eighteen points more than I had here last year, so I’ll take that!”

After a 98 days wait, finally it’s lights out and away we go. Or will be, after a quarter of an hour delay.  On the slippery Albert Park track, with everyone on inters, one of the Racing Bulls – manned by rookie Isaac Hadjer – crashes in the formation lap. The session resumes once his car has been cleared away.

Once the race properly starts, Max comes away clean. After turn two he already passes Oscar Piastri and takes second place. Others are less fortunate: Alpine-driver Jack Doohan loses control of his car and causes the day’s first safety car. Moments later, in the last turn of the first lap, Carlos Sainz loses control of his car and prematurely ends his Williams debut, all still under safety car. At the end of lap seven the safety car ends, and Lando Norris gets away well, with Max and Piastri close in his rearview mirror.

The top three are hot on each other’s heels in the opening phases of the race, till Max locks up in lap seventeen. Piastri takes advantage to pass the four-time world champion, and the following laps see Max losing more and more ground to the papaya cars. Ten laps later Max has a fifteen second gap to Norris in first, who is being chased down by teammate Piastri. Meanwhile Kimi Antonelli is proving his mettle; the young Italian pulls off some impressive overtakes and passes Nico Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll.

In lap 34 Fernando Alonso is the cause of yet another safety car. The Spaniard loses control of his car, but walks away from the crash unscathed. The drivers take the opportunity to switch out their tyres. While the McLarens opt for hard tyres, Max rejoins the grid on mediums. It’s a gamble, as more and more engineers report rain is in the air.

In lap 41 the safety car retires. Norris has a good start and starts to pull away from Piastri, however chaos is not far behind. In lap 44 rain starts pelting down and Piastri shoots off the track – Max takes advantage to move up the grid. Half of the grid boxes for inters, but the four-time world champion stays out for two more laps. Finally, Max, too, opts to pit for inters – it seems to be the right decision, as it’s not long before rookie Gabriel Bortoleto and Max’s teammate Liam Lawson crash out. The safety car makes its final appearance. Both Ferrari’s pit only now, and lose crucial positions in the race. Hamilton drops to P9 and Leclerc to tenth. At the restart Norris leads the race ahead of Max and George Russell. Alex Albon and Antonelli are close behind.

With just six laps to go, the safety car retires for the last time this race. Norris again gets away well and builds a 1.3 second gap to Max. Russell seems to be closing in on Max to take second place, but ultimately a higher place on the podium isn’t in the cards for him this week. The track conditions remain tricky. Gasly skids off the track, and both Ferraris minimise their losses by passing him. Despite the track conditions, just before the race ends DRS is cleared for use. Max spends the penultimate and last laps of the race hunting down Norris, but he just misses out on that race win. Norris wins the Australian Grand Prix with less than a seconds gap to Max. Russell completes the podium, followed by Albon and Antonelli.

Results Grand Prix Australia: