Lando Norris won the formula one season opening the Australian Grand Prix after a dramatic, packaged breed in Melbourne. The McLaren driver prevailed after a close fight with his colleague Oscar Piastri, who was late in career and could only recover just ninth.
Norris needs to see a strong challenge from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen second, with Mercedes’ George Russell on the third and his rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli who makes a great recovery recovery to claim fifth from the Grid. Alex Albon returns a great fourth for Williams.
Ferrari endured a more difficult opening in the season with Lewis Hamilton 10 in his car debut and his colleague Charles Leclerc at Eighth.
McLaren was satisfied with a massive advantage over the rest of the field after opening the wet, windy conditions that had fallen on the track throughout the day and left some drivers who wanted. But with the drying of the track, then the return of the rain was difficult to call the career to Norris’s closely managed to stop a late charge from Verstappen after catching local Piastri’s local hopes in the rain.
For Norris this is the first time he has won in Australia, for the first time he has won the season-opening race and his fifth racing success. His team will also enjoy the winning feeling in Melbourne, after a long loss from the top step. The last time McLaren took the flag here with the Jenson Button in 2012.
Success confirms the strength of McLaren’s new car. Today properly under the way, it should be considered to appear with a real march to the opposition, even given the tricky, wet conditions at Albert Park.
The breed was opened in wet conditions and the start was delayed for 15 minutes after Rookie Isack Hadjar failed to do so at all, who crashed for RB to develop lap on the grid, his career in an inopportune opening and caused the start to overthrow.
When the lights exited, Norris covered a rapid verstappen start to hold a lead but Piastri fell to the Dutchman even two in a sharp opening that was quickly neutralized after the Australian Jack Doohan collapsed at the turn of the five, causing the safety car to be deployed.
Doohan was not the last to come out early as Carlos Sainz followed the suit afterwards, rotating under the safety of the car with a mechanical problem and returning to the barriers.
Norris then led his leadership from the Vrstappen to the restart with three front-runners that open the space with Russell on the fourth, with Hamilton remaining eighth. Piastri also enjoyed the better pace as the track was drained by LAP 17 and when Vrstappen entered the heat of 11, fighting his tires, Australia’s shooting was past to recover the second.
However, Norris is in front control, happy with his tires and conditions and over two seconds with his colleague and a full 20 up to Russell in the fourth by lap 24.
Hamilton moved to Albon in the seventh while Piastri began closing Norris as Vrstappen fell, with a difficulty in grip, 15 seconds Arrears. The McLarens puts 1.5 seconds on a lap on the verstappen and starts lapping the back markers just passed at half point.
McLaren’s drivers were in a race of their own and as Piastri began to climb across Norris’s rear, he, in the local crowd’s consternation, said he had to hold the position as the track moved to dry conditions.
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However, Piastri was given forward with two laps later when the team announced that he was re -free from the race. He didn’t have the time to do this, however, when the car’s safety was called after Fernando Alonso collapsed on Lap 33, motivating a pit host for the dry tires.
The field closed for restarting with two leaders who were ready to go to it just to turn the weather. A heavy shower threatened and McLaren was considering their choices, Norris, no doubt thinking of Sochi in 2021, asserting that they took the wet rubber before the conditions were unnoticed as he argued it with the team.
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At restarting LAP 42, Norris was off the piastri while the promised rainy season began and should have started two laps later but McLaren, despite all of their discussions, was still caught. Both drivers suffered, Norris expanded and Piastri collapsed completely. Norris was able to move on and do it in the pits while Vrstappen leads.
Piastri continued the crowd’s pleasure but Vrstappen and Red Bull gambled on the stay just as Hamilton did to move to the second. The Dutchman tried his best but as the rain continued he forced his car ginger to the pit lane.
Hamilton had to follow the suit because all the drivers slipped, with Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto who both motivated another car safety, allowing Norris and Vrstappen to continue leading after a massive five -minute period that really broke Piastri’s day.
Back to intermediate tires with five laps left when the car safety entered, Norris was led from Verstappen and Russell with conditions that were confusing for a gripping finale. Vrstappen flew to Norris with Drs but the British driver, who had been stormy throughout the day, held his nerves, finally taking the flag under a second from the verstappen. A moment that is appropriately marked as the sun finally managed to break the first time throughout the day.
Lance Stoll is a sixteenth for Aston Martin and Nico Hülkenberg in the seventh for Sauber.