Norris masters chaos to beat Verstappen to Australian GP win

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McLaren's Lando Norris weathered the storm – quite literally – to emerge victorious in Formula 1's season opening Australian Grand Prix, a race marked by chaos, heartbreak and sheer unpredictability.

From a drenched Albert Park circuit to a late-race downpour that turned the track into a skating rink, it was no ordinary Sunday drive for the field of contenders.

Norris, starting from pole, wrestled mixed conditions, multiple Safety Cars, and a ferocious late challenge from Max Verstappen to claim a hard-fought win – but not without a rollercoaster of drama along the way.

Race results to follow...

Disaster Strikes Before the Lights Go Out

The tone was set before the race even began. Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar's dreams of a debut Grand Prix dissolved in a heartbeat when he spun out on the formation lap at Turn 2, smashing into the wall and wrecking his rear wing.

Helmet still on, the distraught Frenchman trudged back to the pits, a forlorn figure as the aborted start delayed proceedings. His misfortune foreshadowed a day where the wet track would claim victim after victim.

Once the lights finally went out, the sodden circuit bared its teeth again. Alpine rookie Jack Doohan and Williams' Carlos Sainz – last year's Melbourne maestro – were early casualties, sliding into the barriers in separate incidents.

The field tiptoed behind the Safety Car, but the real test was yet to come.

Norris Leads, Then Chaos Reigns

Norris seized control from the off, fending off McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull's reigning champion Verstappen with a steely grip on the lead.

As conditions improved, the field swapped intermediates for slicks, hinting at a smoother second half. But Mother Nature had other plans. A sudden, torrential downpour drenched the circuit just as drivers settled into their rhythm, unleashing pandemonium.

Both McLarens danced on the edge of disaster. Norris grazed the grass but wrestled his car back to the pits for intermediates, while Piastri wasn't so lucky – spinning at the penultimate corner and losing precious time.

The blunder handed Verstappen the lead, his slicks still clinging to the asphalt as the rain intensified.

Yet, with the track now a river, even the Dutch master couldn't defy physics forever. His inevitable pit stop swung the pendulum back to Norris, who reclaimed his throne with a blend of grit and guile.

A Final Sprint Through the Storm

The drama peaked with a late Safety Car, triggered by twin crashes from Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto at Turn 13 and Red Bull's Liam Lawson at Turn 2.

As the field bunched up, Verstappen smelled blood, closing within DRS range of Norris in the slippery final laps. The tension was epic – would the champion snatch victory at the death?

Norris, however, had ice in his veins, holding firm to cross the line victorious, with Verstappen a tantalizingly close second.

Behind them, George Russell capitalized on the chaos to snag third for Mercedes, while Williams' Alex Albon and rookie Kimi Antonelli thrilled with a late scrap.

Antonelli briefly surged past Albon, only for a penalty – an unsafe release in the pits – to drop him to fifth behind Aston Martin's wet-weather wizard Lance Stroll.

Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, and a recovering Piastri rounded out the top nine, with Lewis Hamilton nabbing the final point in 10th after a daring but doomed stint on slicks.

The Fallen and the Fighters

The race was a graveyard for ambitions. Fernando Alonso's mid-race shunt in the second Aston Martin added to the wreckage, while Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman gambled on tyre strategies –sticking to intermediates then flipping to slicks – only to finish 13th and 14th after extra stops.

Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda, meanwhile, narrowly missed the points in a race that punished hesitation.

Reflecting on the carnage, it's hard to forget Hadjar's pre-race heartbreak or the sight of Piastri spinning helplessly as his podium hopes faded.

Yet, amid the crashes and Safety Cars, Norris stood tall – a beacon of composure in a storm. The 2025 Australian Grand Prix wasn't just a race; it was a survival epic, and Norris wrote its most triumphant chapter.

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