'Not what I was hoping
for': Hamilton on his Ferarri debut in Melbourne
MELBOURNE — McLaren's Lando Norris held off defending champion Max Verstappen
to win during the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, which featured mixed
weather conditions, multiple crashes, safety cars, and a late-race downpour
that caused huge drama.
Mercedes' George Russell rounds out the podium, and
Alexander Albon of Williams fourth after a late five-second penalty demoted
Mercedes' Andrea Kimi Antonelli to fifth.
Norris is in the world championship lead, having won the
opening race of the season for McLaren at the Australian GP, featuring on-off
rain and numerous crashes.
"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. Tricky conditions, but there are the ones that are
enjoyable and we ended up on top so I'm happy.
"We got it wrong a lot last year so I guess we learned
from our mistakes - we lost out in Silverstone and Canada in similar
conditions. Dealing with the pressure, dealing with Max, with Oscar behind me.
I was pushing the whole way through. A challenging race but for McLaren I need
to give thanks as they have given me a brilliant car," Norris said.
Norris controlled the early stages of Sunday’s encounter
from McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on a sodden
track, before improving conditions enabled a switch to slick tyres over the
second half.
However, shortly after the field had ditched their
intermediates, another patch of heavier rain soaked the circuit once more,
causing both McLarens to skid off. While Norris regained control and pitted,
Piastri spun and lost time. This allowed Verstappen to take the lead, Formula 1
reports.
With Verstappen still on slicks and conditions continuing to
deteriorate, it was inevitable that his own pit stop would be required and,
when that duly happened, Norris reclaimed a lead he had managed so well earlier
in the race.
After a final Safety Car period, caused by crashes for Kick
Sauber debutant Gabriel Bortoleto and Red Bull’s Liam Lawson, Norris came under
attack from Verstappen in the tricky, slippery conditions, with the latter
managing to get within DRS range.
However, Norris had just enough in hand to take the
chequered flag over his 2024 rival, with George Russell exploiting the drama to
complete the podium for Mercedes, ahead of high-flying Williams driver Alex
Albon and rookie team mate Kimi Antonelli.
Antonelli had passed Albon late on, only to be penalised for
an unsafe release, dropping him to fifth from Aston Martin’s wet-weather
specialist Lance Stroll, the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg, Ferrari’s Charles
Leclerc, and the recovering Piastri.
Lewis Hamilton briefly led the race when he also stayed out
a little longer on slicks during the late rainfall, leaving him 10th and in the
final points-paying position when he pitted, denying the Alpine of Pierre Gasly
and the Racing Bulls machine of Yuki Tsunoda.
Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman both tried to stick it out on
intermediates ahead of the decisive final shower, only to go back to slicks and
then have to complete further stops, leaving them 13th and 14th, respectively,
at the finish.
Lawson and Bortoleto joined a sizeable list of retirements
with their respective Turn 2 and Turn 13 shunts, adding to a heavy mid-race
crash for the other Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso and early accidents for
Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Alpine rookie Jack Doohan.
One driver who did not even make the start was Racing Bulls
newcomer Isack Hadjar, who crashed on the formation lap – triggering an aborted
start – and was left inconsolable on the side of the track.
'Not what I was hoping
for': Hamilton on his Ferarri debut in Melbourne
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is not happy with
his 10th-place finish at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on his
Ferarri debut.
Hamilton, who started on eighth, faced difficulty to get
past seventh-placed Alex Albon in a major part of the race at Melbourne’s
Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit with on and off rain making things worse for the
drivers to overtake.
Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc ran in solid
points-paying places as an initially wet encounter moved to dry conditions,
only for another late-race shower to flip the action on its head.
While some drivers immediately switched to intermediate
tyres, others – including Hamilton and Leclerc – stayed out on slicks a little
longer, briefly putting the Ferraris 1-2 on the timing screen.
However, as the rain intensified and they struggled to keep
their cars on track – highlighted by a moment for Leclerc – the pair dropped
back down the order and had to settle for minor points finishes.
After crossing the line in P10, Hamilton said, “I’m grateful
to finish, at least I got one point. Overall, not what I was hoping for, but
there was so much to get accustomed to, to get used to, with all the switch
settings and changes that they (the team) were throwing at you (over the
radio).
“Then just the balance of the car… It was really very, very
tricky – really, really tricky today. I think we can improve that in the next
race, hopefully, and get the car in a sweeter spot. I think there’s a lot more
potential in the car than what we were able to extract today.”
Leclerc, meanwhile, put his hands up for a mistake during
the late downpour – even if he managed to work his way back up to eighth with
moves on Hamilton and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
“For a big part of the race we thought P5 was secured,” he
commented. “Then, obviously, the rain arrived and everything changed. The first
one to blame is myself, after the mistake I’ve done exiting Turn 11.
“We lost three or four positions, which was then very
difficult to recover. We overtook one or two guys on track, but then we were a
bit too late for the pit stop and then we lost a few other positions.
“It’s been a tricky day, overall, but we’ll look into it.
It’s only the first race of the season… Yes, it’s not the first race we would
have hoped for, but looking forward we need to re-motivate ourselves for
Shanghai and recover from what was a disappointing first weekend.”
