By Alex

Formula One is back and it returned with a splash over a bang but the sparks were flying.

The Australian Grand Prix quite literally had everything, a drying track, patches of rain, and all sorts of chaos scattered throughout.

Lando Norris and McLaren navigated the changeable conditions with confidence and firm decisions, helping them secure their first win of the season.

That’s not to say they had it all their own way, however.

The McLaren duo of Norris and Oscar Piastri were able to extend their lead to over 16 seconds before a safety car for Aston Martin Fernando Alonso’s crash brought the field back together.

Rain then caused both drivers run off in the last sector, with Piastri carrying more pace, causing him to spin off into the grass and pirouette to a stop, resulting in him falling a lap down.

In the end, the Aussie finished in ninth after a strong charge in the final few laps, but it was a disappointing end to the race for the home hero.

World Champion Max Verstappen brought his Red Bull home in second, with George Russell’s Mercedes finishing just behind him in third.

It was a strong day for Mercedes, with Kimi Antonelli finishing in fourth place. It was an extremely impressive drive by the rookie, who is known for his ability in the wet, carving his way through the pack, even after spinning early on due to dipping a tyre in the grass.

He did drop down to fifth behind Alex Albon at the chequered flag due to a time penalty, but after a successful appeal from Mercedes, his fourth place was reinstated.

Albon finished in fifth for the resurgent Williams, a result that was earned on pace, as well as some good fortune.

His teammate, Carlos Sainz, didn’t fare so well, crashing in the final corner behind the safety car in the opening laps.

However, Williams Team Principal James Vowles credited Sainz for his integral part in the success of the Williams strategy during the race, demonstrating the importance of teamwork.

Following Albon across the line was Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin and Hulkenberg in the Kick Sauber.

The seventh place finish for the German means the Sauber Team has scored more points after one race this year than they did in the entirety of the 2024 season.

Crazy how things can change, but it shows the importance of being in the right place at the right time.

A strategy blunder from the Ferrari team meant that when the rain intensity increased, they were on the wrong tyres.

Eventually, behind the safety car, they pitted, dropping to the tail end of the top 10, where they had spent most of the day, in all honesty.

In the final laps, they were unable to make any meaningful forward progress with Lewis Hamilton, who is still getting used to his new team, dropped to tenth after an audacious, yet brilliant, overtake by Piastri, who stole ninth place on the last lap.

That sort of summed up their day, lots of what-ifs. Hamilton was stuck behind Albon for most of the race, and Leclerc’s race engineer confirmed to him at one point that water is, indeed, wet.

Apart from Antonelli’s heroics, it was a pretty bad day for the rookies.

Visa RB Racing’s Isack Hadjar didn’t even complete a corner on the formation lap before crashing into the barriers.

His devastation was clear to see, with Anthony Hamilton coming out of the Ferrari garage to console him. As for the other home hero, Jack Doohan, he managed half a lap before his Alpine dived into the barriers after being caught out by a ‘power surge’ from the engine.

Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto managed more than one lap, nearly completing the full race distance, until rain started coming down in the closing stages.

He lost control on the slick tyres and skated into the barriers, with his rear-right suspension failing in an unusual manner.

A disastrous start to his first full season for Red Bull, Liam Lawson suffered a similar fate to Bortoleto, finding the Turn 1 barrier after spinning in the rain on the mediums and destroying his car.

Haas’ Ollie Bearman did finish the race but was in last place after what has been a torrid weekend for the Brit.

All of these mistakes, though, are part of being a rookie, with everyone—including race winner Norris—learning from today.

It is extremely unfortunate that the weather was so tricky for the first race, but thankfully, they are back out on track in a few days’ time in China.

The F1 circus is back on March 21-23 at the Shanghai International Circuit for the Chinese Grand Prix.

McLaren will go there as favourites, but Verstappen has shown he is competitive, and Ferrari will be looking for a stronger performance than Melbourne, with the weather looking dry throughout the whole weekend.