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McLaren have gamechanging tyre interaction
Having played down a strong performance in testing, there was no way to disguise reality at the Australian Grand Prix. During practice the field still looked close, indeed right through the first two sessions in qualifying but when it really mattered in Q3, McLaren were off the leash. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri charged, the former almost four-tenths up on nearest challenger Max Verstappen and almost half a second from fourth-placed George Russell. An age. Perhaps we just removed more sandbags than everyone else was Piastri’s assessment. In which case the MCL39 must have been carrying a skip-load such was their advantage with the wick turned up.
The race only confirmed what the rest of the paddock had already called: the McLaren is a fearsome beast. After what team principal Andrea Stella called an innovative and aggressive winter development, the team have what is surely their best car for long over a decade. Moreover it has an advantage that will serve it well at every single track. In qualifying it was notably very strong in the final sector, indicating its tyres had not been overworked in the demanding first two, something no other team could manage. Stella confirmed as much after the race. They have a car which interacts exceptionally well with its rubber, on which the drivers can lean and exploit their ride’s inherent pace. Russell suggested they were already uncatchable. He may well be right.
Hamilton and Ferrari learning ‘bit by bit’
Lewis Hamilton was realistic about what he might achieve on his very first outing with Ferrari, even while romantics everywhere imagined he might pull out something special. However, what transpired must be viewed as disappointing for the team who have high hopes for the season. Hamilton was pragmatic that it could take time to come up to speed with a new team and a new car, but the SF-25 did not look enormously inspiring in Melbourne. He was nine-tenths of a second off Norris’s pole time and Charles Leclerc was only marginally quicker, almost seven-tenths back. The race was little better, Hamilton declaring it worse than he had expected and he finished 10th after an erroneous strategy call late on. Team principal Fred Vasseur insisted he did not believe the gap to McLaren (and Mercedes and Red Bull) was as great as it appeared and that Ferrari would still challenge.
In the meantime Hamilton also clearly has some way to go to find the right groove with his race engineer Riccardo Adami, with whom he had several terse exchanges, notable given that Hamilton is very much in the “leave me alone I know what I am doing” camp. But the British driver was at least sanguine about the issue. “I think we’re learning about each other bit by bit,” he said. They will likely crack it. Last season Charles Leclerc had to adapt to his new engineer Bryan Bozzi but now the pair have a well-attuned relationship. Indeed their exchange at Albert Park will doubtless be a standout of all team radio this season. “The seat is full of water”, a damp Leclerc reported in. “That must be the water,” replied a deadpan Bozzi. “Let’s add that to the words of wisdom …” quipped the Monégasque driver.
Williams fulfil promise
Having also indicated in testing they had a decent ride – potentially even the best of the rest – Williams, for so long slogging round in the lower echelons, also delivered. Considerations that their testing form might be based on low fuel, high engine modes and some glory runs were dismissed when they were consistently quick throughout the weekend in Melbourne. Alex Albon qualified in sixth and Carlos Sainz in 10th at Albert Park, putting them well in the mix with the big boys despite having put their efforts in practice into optimising race pace rather than the single lap. The race was marred when Sainz crashed out behind the safety car, caught out by a mechanical issue that gave him a huge torque kick during a gear change that he could do nothing about. He did, however, then go on to be vital in advising the pit wall about when Albon should stop when the late rain hit, a call they made perfectly and contributed to his strong finish.
Albon’s Williams then, had undoubted pace and proved able to frustrate Hamilton’s efforts in a Ferrari to pass him. Every element of which sentence would have sounded like the remnants of a fever dream just over 12 months ago. He went on to claim a superb fifth place and 10 points, more than half the tally Williams scored all of last season. The team have targeted 2026 as the time to reap the benefit of a complex reorganisation and restructuring by team principal James Vowles but his work, making consistent and incremental improvements as he goes, is already paying off. He deserves recognition and Williams have the enormously entertaining prospect this year of putting some of their better-resourced midfield rivals to the sword and maybe even grabbing an opportunistic podium.
Rookies make mixed start
On the positive side Kimi Antonelli delivered in absolutely thrilling style in Melbourne. Always expected to be compelling to watch, the 18-year-old Mercedes driver hurled himself at the task with glorious abandon, putting his car on the limit from the off. This will doubtless bite him, as it did in qualifying when he took bib damage looking for an edge that knocked him out in Q3. However in the race he was outstanding, starting from 16th and carving through the field to finish in fourth. He made a series of incisive passes, each executed with the precision of a veteran, not a rookie in his first wet-dry race on a proper circuit and one that bites no less. The Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, who has shown great faith in Antonelli as Hamilton’s replacement, was understandably pleased, describing it as a “mega” run. His assessment was spot on.
Elsewhere it was less edifying. Britain’s Ollie Bearman had a weekend to forget, crashing out in two practice sessions, including FP3, preventing him taking part in qualifying. The 19-year-old did at least keep it on the island in the race and finished, albeit last. Brazil’s Gabriel Bortoleto in contrast opened well, out-qualifying Sauber teammate Nico Hülkenberg at the first attempt but then crashed out late in the race. Isack Hadjar similarly started well for RB, qualifying 11th but then crashing on the formation lap, a mortifying error and exit that left him distraught and being comforted by Hamilton’s father, Anthony. Similarly fraught was Jack Doohan, the 22-year-old Australian whose seat at Alpine was under threat before the season even began and for whom crashing and retiring on lap one was not the way to make his case. Then there was Red Bull’s Liam Lawson, strictly speaking not a rookie with half a season under his belt. However he is rookie-adjacent and notably was very much on message with his fellow newbies: he qualified 18th and crashed out late in the race. “Must do better,” reads most report cards.
Australia brings a spectacle
The meeting was further evidence, were it needed, that Melbourne is the perfect venue to kick off the season in style. The Albert Park circuit is a high-speed thrill ride, demanding, challenging and error-punishing as so many found to their cost. It’s a risk-reward, driver favourite that makes for compelling viewing and with a genuine sense of occasion, unmatched by empty grandstands disturbed only by desert sand. Moreover it has an atmosphere that a season-opening event deserves, to match the anticipation and excitement that builds up through the winter.
The race, which looks brilliant on TV because of the track and the enormous crowds – 131,000 on race day – is also superbly run, packed with enthusiastic fans, colour, noise and character to a festival-like event. From fine support races and every level of engagement, music, an extraordinary range of food, car displays, to a pram parking area and baby changing facilities, it is well thought-out with an emphasis on making sure all the details are right to be inclusive and fan friendly. Right down, it transpires, to two characters wandering the fan zones dressed in full seagull costumes, making nothing but squawking noises and eagerly pecking at the food held by punters. If F1 wants a real showcase for every new season, Melbourne should be an open and shut case.
