MELBOURNE — Preseason favourite Lando Norris overcame Max Verstappen, changing weather, a trip across the grass and three safety car periods to win a frenzied Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Norris held off the charging Red Bull of Verstappen, crossing the line just 0.8s seconds ahead of the reigning world champion.

It was a fitting culmination to a wild season-opening race, which was repeatedly plunged into chaos by intermittent rain and the high number of drivers who crashed out during the contest.

“It was amazing,” Norris said. “It was a tough race, especially with Max [Verstappen] behind me. I was pushing especially the last two laps, which was a little bit stressful but an amazing way to start the year.

“It was a tough one because we went off and made some big mistakes. It was just tricky conditions but these are the ones that are enjoyable, fun and unpredictable. But this time, we got it right and I’m very happy.”

Norris had led away from the pole and, in the moments between the drama, he and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri pulled clear of the pack. But a trip off track for both orange cars on Lap 44 as the rain intensified ended McLaren’s chance at a one-two finish, with Piastri going off at the final corner and tumbling down the order.

Norris avoided a similar fate to clinch his fifth career victory and establish a championship lead he hopes to solidify this season.

McLaren had looked comfortable in the moments between the chaos, but the rain upended everything. In the end, Norris edged Verstappen and Mercedes driver George Russell finished third.

Amid the chaos, McLaren showed a glimpse of an issue which might well linger throughout the season if it has a dominant car — how to manage its two competitive drivers.

At one stage as Piastri closed on Norris, the Australian was told not to race his teammate, a call which was reversed three laps later.

Norris and Piastri had insisted in the lead up to the race they would be free to race.

Williams driver Alex Albon finished fifth while Italian teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli — Lewis Hamilton’s replacement — claimed fourth for Mercedes. Antonelli was handed a five-second penalty, dropping him to fifth, by the stewards for an unsafe release, but the penalty was overturned after Mercedes appealed the decision.

Hamilton’s debut at Ferrari has dominated much of the build-up to the new season but the seven-time world champion settled for 10th, losing a position after a fabulous move by Piastri, who finished ninth.

Hamilton’s teammate Charles Leclerc finished eighth but was left ruing a spin at a crucial moment that cost him a shot at a podium after Ferrari made a late gamble in the rapidly changing conditions that nearly worked.

The moody Melbourne weather set the tone for the race; heavy rain in the lead-up set up a spectacle and the drama started before the race began. Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar crashed out on the formation lap, which takes place before the start.

The distraught Hadjar was consoled by Anthony Hamilton, father of Lewis and Hadjar’s boyhood hero. Hadjar’s accident began a horrible afternoon for F1’s rookie class of 2025.

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Lando Norris triumphant in chaotic Australian Grand Prix

Take a look back at what happened during the first race of the 2025 season in Melbourne.

When the race started, Alpine driver Jack Doohan — who many believe will be replaced by Franco Colapinto this year — spun into the wall at Turn 6, prompting the first safety car of the race.

Williams driver Carlos Sainz squandered a strong position by crashing out as the pack drove at a reduced speed behind the safety car a lap later. Midway through the race, with McLaren disappearing into the distance once again, Fernando Alonso’s crash into the wall on Lap 34 brought out the safety car for a second time, bunching the field together again.

But it was the third and final safety car that triggered a breathtaking finish. The constant delays pushed the race closer to a late rain shower. When the rain began, the pack was running on dry tires — both McLaren drivers could have crashed out as the rain intensified. In the end, it was another two rookies who crashed out.

The first was reigning Formula 2 champion Gabriele Bortoleto, who crashed on the final corner before Red Bull’s Liam Lawson finished a torrid afternoon by spinning into the wall in the final sector. Both drivers retired from the race, leaving 14 remaining.

The final restart appeared to set up a grandstand finish between Norris and Verstappen, but Norris held on despite a late mistake that helped the Red Bull driver close the gap.