00:00The time is now. We have moved to the formation lap and all McLaren front row as we leave the
00:06line.
00:07So we talk about caution and gambles.
00:08And we're on off already.
00:09No, no way. Isaac Hadjar, we were talking about the rookies and he has gone into the wall.
00:16There is standing water out there.
00:18This is surely going to delay the start, but on those intermediates, he's driving also slowly.
00:22And just listen.
00:24The lines around this circuit aren't all FIA paint.
00:28It's a street circuit, 51 weeks of the year.
00:31That is absolutely brutal ahead of what should have been his Grand Prix debut.
00:39Formula One in 2025 begins when the five red lights go out.
00:45The new season is underway and we're racing to turn number one.
00:50Max Verstappen's got a good launch. Lando Norris knows it, covers him off.
00:54Do we go three wide into turn number one? Can Max get around Oscar? No, he can't.
00:57Lando Norris, then Oscar Piastri. Max Verstappen with good traction though.
01:01Trying to move up and he roars by to take second place in the opening meters of the Grand Prix.
01:06Much better traction through there.
01:08As we see Verstappen gain a place on the opening lap.
01:11The home hero down to third.
01:12George Russell maintains fourth.
01:14And Charles Leclerc has improved two positions.
01:16He's got past Yuki Tsunoda and he's into fifth.
01:18Ironically, it was the Hadjar exit line that Max had, wasn't it?
01:22Slightly wider, off the conventional rubber.
01:24Oh, big moment into the wall and the Alpine finds the barriers.
01:29Jack Doohan on debut gets no further than the exit of turn number five.
01:33The home hero brings out the safety car.
01:36Most importantly, he's okay.
01:38But we've lost two of the full season rookies by turn five of the first lap.
01:46Carlos Sainz has found the wall.
01:48It's not just the rookies.
01:50He's all right.
01:51But this is an extraordinary start to the season.
01:55I think that's a car issue there for Sainz rather than anything else.
01:58That's a bizarre one.
01:59And it's under safety car as well.
02:00Yeah, I've never seen something like that.
02:02It's such low speed.
02:05I had like a massive torque surge.
02:11The green flag flies around Albert Park once again.
02:15And on lap seven, we will move to lap eight of 57 with Lando Norris checking the left-hand mirror
02:21to see where Max Verstappen is.
02:23We're going racing once again in Melbourne.
02:25Can we find a clean lap?
02:27Can we make use of the 30 minutes where it's not expected to rain?
02:33Let's take another look at how Antonelli got past Hülkenberg.
02:36He's got DRS.
02:37He's got a Mercedes.
02:38And he's up against the Sauber.
02:40But it's nonetheless a tidy pass for Antonelli.
02:45Antonelli's had a moment.
02:46He's dropped back behind Hülkenberg.
02:48He's heading into turn number four.
02:50And he's done what his teammate did in practice.
02:52Dipped a wheel.
02:53Gone round.
02:54Avoids the wall.
02:55And he's back in the Grand Prix.
02:56Yeah.
02:57Easy mistake to make.
02:58I say easy to make.
02:59Your car doesn't suddenly get any wider.
03:01He's a lucky boy.
03:02Keeps it going just before the barrier greets him there.
03:05And he's back in the race.
03:06Just losing one position.
03:10The man from Melbourne is chasing down the world champion.
03:13Who is beginning to get braver and braver with the exit curbs.
03:16We are heading down from 10 to 11.
03:19Heavy on the brakes.
03:20Down from 180 miles per hour.
03:21And Verstappen is off.
03:22Verstappen goes deep.
03:24Brushes the gravel.
03:25Through goes Piastri.
03:27Oscar Piastri up to second.
03:30Just Lockheed pumping the brake pedal there to keep the rotation going.
03:34Not have a massive flat spot and end up making it even worse.
03:36It's a good recovery from a mistake that could have cost Max a lot more.
03:40But it does unleash now Oscar into second place.
03:42And it's a McLaren one too.
03:45That is Kimi Antonelli going back past the Salva.
03:48And he's back up to 12.
03:49Having spun away that position a few moments ago.
03:54McLaren started this weekend by announcing they've got both drivers signed up long term.
03:59Oscar Piastri has a bumper contract.
04:02And he has the race leader close ahead of him.
04:05Look at the distance between the two McLarens.
04:08That's what three tenths of a second looks like.
04:13I would imagine purely because this is the boy.
04:17Oh, he was deep into six.
04:18He was deep into six.
04:19And that has extended the gap just wide into the sixth turn of the racetrack.
04:24And he's lost a load of momentum.
04:25The driver in the suburb of Brighton, a few miles away from here where he heard the engine,
04:30the roar of F1 engines growing up as a kid.
04:35Yeah, it's one of the most difficult parts of the management.
04:39Oh, into the wall we go.
04:41Fernando Alonso hits the barriers to bring out what will be a virtual safety car at minimum.
04:47And he was coming out of turn six.
04:49The Aston Martin clatters the wall.
04:51And we have our fourth retirement from the Grand Prix.
04:56So, ran on the wet line on the way down into six.
04:59Oof.
05:00Actually, you can't really say he was offline as he went through the exit of that carbon six.
05:06But there was a gravel or something on the...
05:08No, he didn't actually go as far over the line.
05:11And that seems to be enough to have broken traction.
05:15So, talk about the difficulty of keeping temperature in the intermediate earlier in the Grand Prix.
05:19This is going to be challenging.
05:21Hard tyres as well for the McLaren boys.
05:23Out goes Norris.
05:25Slower stop for Piastri.
05:27But it won't matter.
05:28He should still come out ahead of Verstappen who dives in as well.
05:33As we cross the line and we go racing once again.
05:36Lando Norris leads.
05:37Oscar Piastri trying to take it away and trying to take home victory.
05:41Max Verstappen trying to be more effective on the slick tyre than he was on the intermediate.
05:45And we go racing once again.
05:48The top three going to battle once more.
05:51In three laps, Class 3 rain expected.
05:55Lasting for two laps.
05:56Class 3 is a lot.
05:58Yes, this is what we see for the Raider.
06:00But we'll have to wait for it.
06:04Here comes the rain.
06:06Yeah, well, they've all committed.
06:07As far as you can see, everyone's gone by.
06:09That was a half.
06:10Look, there's the lock-up.
06:11Can he rotate the car?
06:12Yuki Tsunoda, he can.
06:13So we're forecasting that we won't be able to stay out on dry tyres.
06:17We think it will be heavy enough for Inter.
06:20If you find yourself trying to scurry around for one lap more on the slick,
06:24you could lose tens of seconds.
06:26Charles Leclerc trying to come back.
06:27Remember, the medium tyre is...
06:29Oh, go to McLarens!
06:30First of all, Lando Norris.
06:31Then Oscar Piastri.
06:33And Max Verstappen is on line to take second place.
06:35And he does so as the Australian driver spins at the penultimate corner of the racetrack.
06:39Can he keep the car going?
06:41Is that the moment that home victory dreams are dashed for Oscar Piastri?
06:45And Verstappen's stayed out.
06:47Verstappen leads the Grand Prix.
06:49Lando Norris comes into pit.
06:50And it's Max Verstappen who rolls the dice.
06:53Along with Yuki Tsunoda, who is up to second place.
06:55Lewis Hamilton, third for Ferrari on debut.
06:58And that might have been a slow stop for Lando Norris.
07:02Oscar Piastri was in second place.
07:05And then the rain came.
07:06Both McLarens off the road.
07:08Yeah, and then crucially, Lando got it back on the tarmac earlier.
07:12Oster, when he rejoined, just too much momentum.
07:14And off he went to the grass.
07:17Yuki Tsunoda was able to get past Charles Leclerc.
07:19He had a spin whilst we were watching the McLarens.
07:25The ponchos are down.
07:26Verstappen might not pit.
07:28He might have just gambled this.
07:29And he doesn't pit.
07:30He stays out.
07:31Hamilton passes Tsunoda for second and third.
07:33I think they've stayed out as well.
07:35It's a gamble for those that have pitted.
07:37It's a gamble for those that stayed out.
07:39Looks like the rain is coming here now.
07:40We need to make a decision.
07:42I understand, Max.
07:43We will let you know.
07:45And now Lewis Hamilton.
07:48So ahead of him, you saw Yuki Tsunoda going off.
07:50And Hamilton going around the outside.
07:55He's losing massive amounts of time.
07:57But the team have decided to stay out.
07:59All or nothing for Verstappen and Red Bull.
08:01They're all in for the win.
08:03No, he peels in.
08:04He peels in.
08:05They can't hang on on slick tyres, on a wet track, any longer.
08:10Will Lewis Hamilton try and do the opposite, to try and claim victory on debut for Ferrari?
08:16Surely he's going to be losing too much time if he stays out.
08:19He's going to get it.
08:21Lewis Hamilton leads on Ferrari debut.
08:24Charles Leclerc is second.
08:25Lando Norris is in the intermediate tyres.
08:28And he's got a chance to catch them and reclaim first place in the race.
08:32The rain comes down.
08:33Yeah, Norris is all ready with Hamilton.
08:35It's not going to work, surely.
08:36Pass Leclerc to second place.
08:38And now Norris is close to the back of Lewis Hamilton.
08:40Ferrari stayed out on the slick tyre.
08:43Extraordinary Grand Prix.
08:44Amazing, they both stayed out.
08:47Yeah, leading the race.
08:48Yeah, it's very sippy, mate.
08:50It's more rank than me, Dad.
08:52Norris leads.
08:53Into the wall goes Liam Lawson.
08:56He's done the same thing at the first couple of turns on the racetrack.
08:59The Kiwi has hit the barriers.
09:01This will be a safety car again.
09:02OK, well, a safety car changes things again.
09:05And off the road we go with Gabriel Bortoleto.
09:08The rookie struggling in the wet again.
09:12Bortoleto, wheel on the kerb.
09:14And that momentum, we've seen that a lot this weekend.
09:16We have indeed the reigning Formula 2 champion making his first start in Formula 1.
09:21And that's the moment that the traction broke on the Sauber into the barrier.
09:25And another incident at Turn 13.
09:27We've seen plenty of them.
09:30The clunk into the barrier for the second Red Bull.
09:32Liam Lawson finding himself out of his 12th Formula 1 Grand Prix.
09:39Lewis Hamilton pitch from second place.
09:42He doesn't think it's the right tyre, even though they were slowed down by the safety car's pace.
09:50Well, what balance have you got on lap 52 of 57?
09:54With it going the distance, with the win in the balance.
09:58Can Lando Norris break clear?
10:00They're all fighting the car's, DC.
10:02Yeah, Max Verstappen had to lift out.
10:04That he's given George Russell a clear sight.
10:06And Slipstream, as they run down into Turn 3, pressure off Lando Norris.
10:12Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc on the restart, super close together.
10:16Heading into Turn 2.
10:18And Charles Leclerc able to get past his teammate and up to 9th place.
10:24And how about that lap from Kimi Antonelli?
10:27He's putting Albon under massive pressure for 4th position right now.
10:31The driver on debut in Formula 1.
10:33As over the road goes Gasly.
10:34And he blocks the path of Leclerc, which will bring Hamilton into play.
10:37Yeah, Hamilton will have momentum.
10:39And will he follow his teammate through?
10:41Yep, round the outside on the brakes.
10:43Leclerc gets by, Hamilton gets by.
10:45And that error into the first turn of the racetrack costs Pierre Gasly, who drops down to 10th.
10:53Piastri trying to take at least a point away from what will be a day of hurt.
10:57A day where he could have found himself at the front.
11:03The gap under a second as we head into the high-speed turns at 9 and 10 with Verstappen getting
11:10so close.
11:11Yeah, but he's in the dirty air through these high-speed chicanes.
11:14This should just be enough for Lando to break free.
11:17He looks into the left mirror.
11:19He sees a four-time world champion.
11:21He's not had the opportunity for a late send.
11:25Norris has a couple of corners to go.
11:28Antonelli has a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release.
11:31That will drop him down behind Alex Alvin.
11:34But Lando Norris was checking his mirrors a few corners ago.
11:37Now he sees the crowd rise to applaud him as the winner.
11:43Norris weathers the storm.
11:45The British driver sees the chequered flag first.
11:49Lando Norris wins the Australian Grand Prix in a brilliant battle all the way to the flag.
11:55He beat Max Verstappen by eight-tenths of a second.
11:58George Russell completes the podium.
12:00And Kimi Antonelli comes home in fourth position.
12:04Apply the five-second penalty and it drops down to fifth.
12:07Amazing points for Alexander Alvin in fourth place for Williams.
12:10That's still an incredible debut for Antonelli.
12:13But Norris withstood the pressure.
12:15Norris, our opening winner of the year.
12:19Oscar Piastri got past Lewis Hamilton on the last lap.
12:22And this is how he did it.
12:24Going all the way around the outside.
12:26What a move.
12:28Wow.
12:30That is commitment.
12:32That is bravery.
12:33That is anger.
12:34That is frustration.
12:35And that is no respect for a seven-time world champion.
12:39It's dark overhead.
12:41And the rain is pouring in.
12:43So what's a little bit more spray out there?
12:45On the racetrack.
12:46On the podium.
12:47A magnificent motor race.
12:50And victory for Lando Norris.
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