Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Formula 1 (F1) drivers took to the grid in Melbourne, Australia, on Sunday to start the 75th season of the sport. Though one race out of 24 seems a bit early to say if the racing lived up to the talk, there has been more hype for the sport this year than in many previous years. If it was wrong, you would get a sense of that even in the first race.

Fortunately, the race was tightly contested, full of exciting moments, and delivered even more than anticipated in many ways. Sure, part of the drama this past weekend was the weather as things shifted from dry to wet conditions with the rain pouring down on Sunday, but even qualifying showed this year is going to be something special.

Going through the points I made in my season selling points, here are the reasons why I found Australia to be a very compelling start to F1’s 2025 season.

1. In the top eight positions at the end of the race, seven of the ten teams were represented. Though Alpine, the Racing Bulls, and Haas didn’t see any points in the opening race, the points were spread around the other teams more than usual and the diversity throughout the top eight positions, with only Mercedes having both drivers in the top four, was great to see.

Qualifying was exciting as well. F1 uses a “knock out” style of qualifying through three rounds with the bottom five drivers getting eliminated in the first and second round, then the top ten drivers in a shoot out for pole in the third round. Years ago, smaller teams struggling at the back of the grid would have to seek approval to race because they couldn’t get in the 107% rule F1 set up for qualifying. This year, the first round of qualifying saw the gap from first place to 16th place, the first driver eliminated, at just 0.7 seconds.

McLaren seemed to have some speed in hand though as the final round of qualifying saw Lando Norris’ pole position about one second ahead of 10th place Carlos Sainz. At one point during the race, Norris and his teammate Oscar Piastri were some fifteen seconds ahead of third place Max Verstappen, but when the checkered flag waved, Norris took victory just 0.895 seconds ahead of second place Verstappen. Excitement abounded from start to finish in Australia.

2. Lando Norris had hopes of challenging Max Verstappen for the driver’s title last season but came up short. This year, Norris seems to have learned from last season and mounted a convincing statement start to the 2025 season. Even though Red Bull seem to be on their back feet compared to previous seasons, one should never discount Max Verstappen, the reigning driver champion for the past four years.

Ferrari showed promise in practice, but failed to deliver much during qualifying or the race. Charles Leclerc just couldn’t compete with the front runners and Lewis Hamilton, seven-time world champion, is still learning how his new team operates. At many times, the radio conversations made it seem like Hamilton was in the middle of a training exercise which is incongruous with him being the second most experienced driver on the grid.

Mercedes made a promising showing with their drivers finishing third and fourth, though their cars didn’t seem to enjoy the cooler and wet conditions found in Australia on race day. Andrea Kimi Antonelli, one of the Mercedes drivers, is the second youngest driver ever in F1 at just 18-years-old. As one of six drivers classified as a rookie this year, there was the most pressure on this young man since he was catapulted through the feeder series at a breakneck pace before his promotion to the top this season. Though he qualified back in 16th, he handled the wet conditions and mayhem brilliantly to manage a drive all the way up to fourth.

Other rookies were not as fortunate. Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar spun and wrecked on the formation lap before the race even began. Alpine’s Jack Doohan disappointed his home fans by spinning out and wrecking on the first lap. Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto spun on lap 45 and Red Bull’s Liam Lawson spun out one lap later.

To be fair, they weren’t the only ones caught out by the treacherous conditions as Williams’ Carlos Sainz, a ten-year veteran, spun out and wrecked behind the safety car after Doohan’s retirement from the race. The field’s most experienced driver, 43-year-old Fernando Alonso, was caught off guard when his Aston Martin spun into the barriers after 32 laps.

Even though Sainz came on the radio asking his team what happened after he spun out of the race, that is often his gut reaction to any accident he is in. What I found particularly interesting about his further reaction, after a rather embarrassing accident occurring while he was behind the safety car and not even at race speeds, was that he didn’t go hide in his trailer or leave the track like many racers do. He went to the pit wall and talked with his new Williams team, helping them with strategy for Alex Albon, their driver still in the race. Sainz’s help, lauded by team officials, helped Albon secure a fifth place finish.

Also of note for perseverance is McLaren’s Oscar Piastri who was racing at his home grand prix. He qualified second, just 0.084 seconds behind his teammate. Though losing second to Max Verstappen early on, he got the place back and was breathing down Norris’ exhaust, looking to all the world to be the faster racer at the time. Team orders came out for them to hold positions, squashing Piastri’s momentum.

Then the rain came. The drivers had all put on slick tires as the track had dried out from earlier rain, but the new downpour was getting heavy. As the camera cut back to the leaders, onlookers saw both McLarens, in first and second in the race, off track and going through the gravel. Fortunately, both drivers managed to get their cars back on the road, and before Verstappen could rocket by to snatch the lead. Unfortunately, Piastri spun once more and ended up in a field of water-logged grass. Viewers could see his back tires uselessly spin as he tried to gain purchase to get back on the track. The race tracker marked Piastri as out of the race.

As the insanity continued of who had pitted for wet tires, who was staying out and what everyone’s new position was in the race, cameras eventually cut back to Piastri who was still in his car, backing up and finding a way to get his car moving again. He made it back to the pits, got fresh tires, and drove his way back to ninth position, earning two points.

Some may say that isn’t much and, with 23 races to go, two points might not mean anything. Championships have been secured by a one point margin. Piastri’s unwillingness to give up and daring passes on drivers like Lewis Hamilton showed a fire that will serve the young driver well in just his third season. Even though Norris is the favorite to win this season, keep an eye on the fire in Piastri. Performances like this one make champions.

3. Racing is most exciting when it is close and passes happen on track instead of in the pit lane. I stand by this, my third point in the previous article, and it was true in Australia where the difference between the top two finishers was less than one second. Several safety cars shrunk the field in this race meaning things might not have been this close naturally… but it was very exciting all the same.

4. Haas’ underperformance in Australia and the lack of any American drivers makes my final point from the last article a bit hard to defend. However, the introduction of a second American team next year and hopefully some exciting American drivers coming up the ranks will become a point of excitement and pride going forward.

Australia delivered a very memorable race to start 2025, and hopefully this is indeed a sign of the racing we can expect to see throughout the season. Last year, teams tightened the competition throughout the season, but we’re starting out with tight competition already.

Racing continues with practice this Friday, qualifying and a sprint race on Saturday, and the grand prix main event on Sunday, March 23rd. As they’re racing in China, you might not want to watch the live broadcast at 3 a.m. local time, but there are replays and recaps a plenty available.