Lando Norris took the chequered flag at the Australian Grand Prix after starting the race first. He fended off the defending champion Max Verstappen in the race’s closing stages after rain-induced drama put his top spot in danger.
McLaren driver Lando Norris won a dramatic rain-hit Australian GP as he fended off defending champion Max Verstappen to take the chequered flag at Albert Park on Sunday, March 16.
Norris faced the heat from Verstappen in the final laps after a third safety car saw the Dutchman go all cylinders firing behind the Brit. With Verstappen on his tail, Norris managed to find enough to win the race and take maximum points for the fastest lap. Behind the duo, George Russell of Mercedes took an unlikely third despite not being in the frame of the podium earlier.
McLaren’s perfect one-two finish could not materialise when Norris’ partner and home favourite Oscar Piastri spun and late into the race when rain returned in the final 15 laps. When the rain started to fall, the McLaren driver slid off the track. While Norris managed to take his McLaren into the pits for an Intermediate rubber, Piastri remained on the grass for more than a minute and lost plenty of positions to return to the back.
The Australian youngster climbed the places up and finally entered the top 10 in the final laps. He went past Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari on the final lap to take two points in his home race.
It was a tough debut for the seven-time champion Hamilton on his Ferrari debut. He started the grid on eighth and was troubled by constant radio messages from his team.
Behind the top three, Mercedes Kimi Antonelli got his fourth place back after a penalty for unsafe release from the pits was reversed after the race. Williams driver Alex Albon came home fifth ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Piastri and Hamilton rounded off the top 10.
Speaking after the race, Norris said, “I knew I had a good pace, but I made one mistake in turn six, and he got me in the DRS, and the DRS around here is probably like a second or something, so that allowed it to keep staying within that second.”
“I know what I’m capable of, I know what I can do, but obviously it’s just round one, so we need to go and do it again next weekend and then continue from there. A long season ahead, we’ve just got to keep our head down and keep pushing,” he added.