Winners and Losers from 2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix

The season-opening Australian Grand Prix was an all-time classic, won by Lando Norris in challenging mixed conditions. 

It was a first round to remember Down Under, with the race having started in wet weather before the circuit dried. 

However, a late heavy rain shower caused chaos at Albert Park, yet Norris survived to convert his pole position into the win. Max Verstappen and George Russell completed the podium.

So, who has made the RacingNews365 list of winners and losers for the 2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix?

Winner - Lando Norris

The biggest winner of the Australian GP was literally the race winner himself! After winning the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi last year, Norris kickstarted his 2025 title pursuit perfectly. 

It marked his first back-to-back wins in F1, and saw him end Verstappen's record 1,029 day run at the top of the drivers' championship.

But, most importantly, Norris proved that he can handle pressure and still come out on top. 

He claimed pole after his first lap in Q3 was deleted for exceeding track limits, and dealt with late pressure from Verstappen in the race after running off the circuit.

The next question Norris needs to answer if he is to become the true title favourite, is whether he can handle pressure when in an actual battle with the reigning world champion.

Loser - Ferrari

For Ferrari, it was a season-opener to quickly forget. It was supposed to be an event full of celebration and promise, given it was Lewis Hamilton's first race for the team. 

Instead, it quickly spiralled into a typical Scuderia nightmare, starting off with both Charles Leclerc and Hamilton qualifying on the fourth row. 

The race, remarkably, went even worse for the Maranello-based outfit, following a strategic disaster for both drivers when heavy rain fell on Lap 44. 

Leclerc finished in eighth, whilst Hamilton had to settle for 10th. The only positive for Ferrari, is it does not have long to wait to show its true pace. 

Winner - Mercedes

Alongside Norris, Mercedes were also actual winners in Australia but for a very different reason. 

After activating a right of review, Mercedes successfully overturned a five-second time penalty for Kimi Antonelli for an unsafe release. 

This restored Antonelli's remarkable fourth-place finish, having started in 16th after being eliminated in Q1. Russell finished in third after capitalising on Oscar Piastri spinning. 

The true reason why Mercedes were a winner in Australia, is because the signing of Antonelli suddenly made complete sense. 

Whilst four of the six full-time rookies crashed in treacherous conditions, he made 12 places to finish in fourth. It seems Mercedes really does have a star on its hands. 

Loser - Red Bull rookies

Two of the four rookies to crash, were Red Bull's Liam Lawson and Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar. 

Lawson had a horrid first grand prix with Red Bull and struggled throughout the weekend. Verstappen was significantly quicker, whilst Lawson was eliminated in Q1. 

To add to his woes, a crash at Turn 2 when heavy rain fell during the race summed up a season-opener to forget. 

As for Hadjar, an embarrassing crash on the formation lap undid what was a brilliant weekend up until that point after qualifying in 11th. Helmut Marko also criticised Hadjar for crying.

Winner - Williams

There is a reason why Williams are winners, rather than purely Alex Albon who finished in a sensational fifth. 

Williams dazzled in pre-season testing, where Carlos Sainz set the quickest time. The pace of the FW47 continued in Australia, with Albon and Sainz having been very competitive. 

Albon did incredibly to qualify in sixth, whilst a mistake by Sainz left him in 10th. Sadly, an opening lap crash caused by an issue with the car ended Sainz's first race with Williams early.

Despite this, it is clear that the Grove-based team has designed a very competitive package for 2025, to the extent that it currently looks to be fifth in the pecking order.

Loser - Haas

At the bottom of the pecking order, are quite clearly Haas. What has gone wrong for the American outfit?

It made huge strides last year to finish seventh in the constructors' standings, but has fallen to the back of the grid by some margin. 

Esteban Ocon was slow throughout the season-opener, whilst Oliver Bearman had two crashes which resulted in him completing just 13.5 laps across the three practice sessions. 

Bearman crashed in first practice, resulting in him missing second practice. He then crashed in third practice on his second lap, with his car having not been completely fixed for qualifying. 

Haas look to be in big trouble, or has the team opted to sacrifice this season for a strong start to the new power unit regulations next year?