Under and over down under! Formula 1 started the 2025 season with an insane spectacle, as wildly as in Albert Park it was no longer possible for a long time. Reason enough for F1 expert Christian Danner and RTL data analyst Steffen Kosuch to break up the Australia chaos again in peace.
In the sport.de-Debrief to the Australia GP You can find out why Max Verstappen almost won, Nico Hülkenberg was already enough for a strong result and how dominant McLaren really is.
To finish first you have to first finish. The old Formula 1 wisdom does not only apply to racing victories. Even those who want to hamsting points have to keep their car on the track and bring them to the finish. One could also add: If you want to be successful in a rain race, you should make fewer mistakes than usual.
In Melbourne, not only Triumphate Lando Norris and his Stockerl neighbor Max Verstappen and George Russell met these requirements. Mercedes-Rokie Andrea Kimi Antonelli drove an almost flawless race and some backbenchers also used the favor of the hour.
Neither Albon (Williams/P5) nor Lance Stroll (Aston Martin/6) nor Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber/7) in Melbourne were competitive from the pure performance. But: You just kept your car on course – and fell, Hülkenberg gave clean more points in one fell swoop than in 2024.
The Melbourne weather was a steep challenge, especially for the six rookies. Isack Hadjar experienced the Gau, threw his car away in the formation round and cried out in the arm of Anthony Hamilton.
Of course, an embarrassing faux pas after the racing bull would like to be sunk in the ground. But: Carlos Sainz’s departures (behind the Safety Car!) And F1 legend Fernando Alonso show that even old hands are not immune to mistakes.
There is still no formula 1 harmony with Ferrari and Hamilton
Kimi Antonelli already mastered his Formula 1 debut-despite the pressure that Lewis Hamilton is on the young Italian as a Mercedes successor. The silver brain used the Safety car phases to guide the 18-year-old from 16th to 4th.
Antonelli himself also made his contribution to the strong Mercedes result. Between round 17 and 32, the Greenhorn drove despite the conditions and despite traffic almost at Russell level. Then Antonelli showed why Mercedes is relating to him and why Toto Wolff keeps such large pieces on him.
For his predecessor Lewis Hamilton, the premiere in Ferrari was anything other than as desired. The record champion did not feel comfortable in the car, nor worked the collaboration with racing engineer Riccardo Adami – various, partly confuse discussions on the radio show that there is still no harmony here.
Video: Steiner: Hamilton has to deliver now
Ferrari bought the start anyway. With Charles Leclerc, the red could have landed much further, but they did not use the chaotic race in their favor. The Ferrari strategists screwed up the racing of the Monegassen with a change on intermediate tires too late.
Piatri the big Melbourne disappointment
To the top: Lando Norris enthroned. The Brit confirmed what had already indicated during the test drives in Bahrain. McLaren currently clearly has the best car- both in qualifying and racing trim. Norris and Piatri are a good half a second faster than the first pursuers per round.
After the initial Saftey car phase, Verstappen was able to stay eight rounds and keep Piatri behind. When the Australian pushed past a small mistake by the world champion, the distance tore and Verstappen fell significantly.
Graph: behind the top pilots (in seconds/high axis) on racing winner Norris in the course of the race (right axis)
Until round 32 (Alonso accident), no driver could only keep up with the McLaren. Only the various juice cars due to accidents in the second half of the race gave Verstappen a chance to win.
Piatri left the chance of a home win through a ride in round 44. With luck, he brought the car back, but his catch -up including strong overtaking maneuvers against Hamilton washed the Aussie only ninth – clearly too little and very disappointing.
Red Bull did not make a strategy mistake
Even winners Norris did not remain completely flawless. Immediately before Piatri, the Englishman lost control of his McLaren, brought the car with luck and can go back to course. The loss of time was manageable, but the ride through the Australian green did not get the underbody. So Verstappen was back in striking distance at the end of the race. Despite DRS, it was no longer enough for a real attack, but many rounds would have “survived” at the top.
Would Verstappen have had another chance? According to the McLaren, Norris immediately got intermediates when the rain was becoming more rain. Verstappen, on the other hand, remained two rounds outside with medium pneus. Exactly in these two rounds, Verstappen made some ground on Norris. In view of the increasing rain, however, another circulation would hardly have been feasible even for Raingott Verstappen. So Red Bulls Call came at the right time-no mistake by the Bull command stand.
The rest of the shooting festival had no chance of winning. George Russell took out the maximum for Mercedes as third. In the past, the silver arrows at the start in Melbourne were the measure of things and drove the competition. In 2025, McLaren has the role of the dominator.
To person:
Christian Danner made the leap into Formula 1 in 1985 with winning the Formula 3000 European Championship. Until 1986 he ran four World Cup points in the premier class for several small teams and won four World Cup. Then he drove in the US Indycar series and became the first German racing driver to score points in Formula 1 and Indycar. In the DTM, Danner won five races between 1988 and 1996, in 1997 he retired from motorsport. From 1998 to 2022, Bayer commented on Formula 1 at RTL alongside Heiko Wäßer. Danner works as a TV expert and driving safety trainer. Follows Christian Danner on Instagram.
Steffen Kosuch, a former Moto-cross driver, has been part of the Formula 1 team at RTL since the early 2000s. As a former racing engineer and advisor to the FIA, he takes care of racing strategy, performance analyzes, regulations and advertising planning at RTL.