Daily Times

Lando Norris kept his cool in a rain-hit and incident-packed season-opening Australian Grand Prix Sunday to edge world champion Max Verstappen with Lewis Hamilton 10th on his Ferrari debut.

The pole-sitting Briton took the chequered flag by less than a second from the Dutchman, with Mercedes’ George Russell third after a chaotic race in Melbourne that saw three drivers crash before the end of the first lap.

With the safety car repeatedly forced into action after a slew of accidents on the wet Albert Park circuit, Norris held on to clock a fifth grand prix win and second in a row after topping the podium at the final race of 2024 in Abu Dhabi.

RB rookie Isack Hadjar, Alpine’s Jack Doohan and Williams’ Carlos Sainz — last year’s winner — all failed to finish the first lap on a track made treacherous by earlier torrential rain.

Norris came into the season as favourite for the 2025 drivers’ title and cemented his status as the man to beat.

“It was amazing, a top race, especially with Max behind me. I was pushing, especially the last two laps — it was a little bit stressful, not going to lie,” said Norris.

“Tricky conditions, but there are the ones that are enjoyable and we ended up on top so I’m happy.”

Verstappen, who is aiming to become only the second driver to win five straight world titles after Michael Schumacher, was in the hunt early but an uncharacteristic error on lap 18 dented his chances until another safety car put him back in the frame.

“It was a difficult race, but at the end it was fun,” said the Dutch star.

“It was pushing, fighting for the win but I’m just happy to bring it home, score good points and this is a good start for us.”

In the unpredictable conditions, with rain on-and-off, Williams’ Alex Albon was an encouraging fourth ahead of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli on his debut.

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was sixth ahead of Nico Hulkenberg in a Sauber.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc came eighth, with Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri and Hamilton rounding out the top 10.

Russell was content with third, given the circumstances.

“It was a great race to come home in P3. And well done to Lando, a race like that when you are leading is probably your worst nightmare,” he said. “I was quite enjoying it to be honest, hoping the two guys ahead made a mistake and I could slip through.”