Lando Norris yesterday kept his cool in a rain-hit and incident-packed season-opening Australian Grand Prix to edge world champion Max Verstappen with Lewis Hamilton 10th on his Ferrari debut.
The pole-sitting Briton took the checkered flag by less than a second from the Dutchman, with Mercedes’ George Russell third after a chaotic race in Melbourne in which three drivers crashed 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.
Photo: AFP
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 favorite for this year’s 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,” Norris said. “Tricky conditions, but there are the ones that are enjoyable and we ended up on top so I’m happy.”
Photo: Reuters
Verstappen, who is aiming to become only the second driver to win five consecutive 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,” the Dutch star said. “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.”
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