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F1 LIVE: Will Verstappen beat Norris in the rain again? 2025 Australian Grand Prix
The first round of the championship will be a wet weather race, that will see the drivers complete 58 laps around the semi-permanent circuit of Albert Park: it's the Australian Grand Prix
F1 LIVE: The 2025 Australian Grand Prix
As it stands
Lando Norris will start the race from pole position with his teammate, local hero, Oscar Piastri, next to him in the front row. Behind them, wet weather master driver, Max Verstappen, will start in third, with Mercedes driver George Russell beside him on the second row. Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda pulled off a majestic lap which earned him a well deserved sport in the top five, with Thai Williams driver, Alexander Albon starting on the inside in P6.
Ferrari fell short of the promise shown in the first two practice sessions, however this might have something to do with their 2024 struggles to bring their tyres up to temperature in qualifying, but on the upside it would mean kinder degradation levels, although, with the inclement weather that is afflicting Melbourne at the moment, who's to say this will be as big an advantage as it would otherwise be in dry.
It was not the best days for the rookies. Well, for most. Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto defeated veteran Nico Hulkenberg and got himself into Q2 in a Sauber that many have said, by rights, should not have made it past the Q1 threshold. Andrea Kimi Antonelli had beginner's bad luck. The Mercedes driver looking to maximise performance on the exit of Turn 6, used up all the track and went over over the kerbs, which caused damage to his floor, rendering him unable to improve and was thus knocked out in Q1.
Fellow rookie, Liam Lawson failed to make it out of Q1 as well. With pressure mounting on him, he had a scruffy last push lap that ended with him entering the pits after he had gone off the track and into the grass on the exit of turn 13. Jack Doohan was soundly beaten by his teammate yet again, following the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which does not do him any favors certainly, what with all the rumours surrounding his seat and Alpine reserve, Franco Colapinto.
These narratives and more will be played out today as the drivers get ready to take the track for the first time this season: it's the 2025 Australian Grand Prix.