Sliding and crashing orgy

Australian Grand Prix – LIVE from 5 o’clock

Lando Norris won in Melbourne.

(Bild: SAEED KHAN)

Safety car deployments in staccato, a veritable orgy of sliding and crashing, a thrilling finish and ultimately a deserved winner Lando Norris - the Australian Grand Prix played out in all possible (and impossible) ways. Max Verstappen finished second ahead of George Russell.

Rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished fourth in the Mercedes. The 18-year-old Italian scored points for the first time in his first Formula 1 race and is the youngest driver to score points on his debut. Antonelli was initially classified fifth after a five-second penalty for an unsafe pit stop, but after a protest from his team and the submission of new camera images, the penalty was rescinded. Alexander Albon took fifth place for Williams.

The race was disappointing for Ferrari after an unfortunate tire decision in the rain lottery: Charles Leclerc was eighth and Lewis Hamilton tenth. Lance Stroll in sixth and Nico Hülkenberg in seventh, however, ensured that Aston Martin and Sauber had reason to celebrate.

Lewis Hamilton

(Bild: WILLIAM WEST)

"A bit stressful"
"It was a difficult race, but I have to thank McLaren because they gave me a brilliant car," said Norris after his fifth Grand Prix win in total. "A top race, especially with Max behind me. I gave it everything I had, especially in the last two laps. It was a bit stressful, I'm not going to lie." Verstappen, on the other hand, said it was fun at the end. "This is the result I expected, it's 18 points more than last year, so I'm happy to take it," emphasized the Dutchman. "This is a good start for us."

(Bild: WILLIAM WEST)

(Bild: APA/AFP/WILLIAM WEST)

Piastri drove in second place for a long time
The start was aborted and restarted after Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar went off on the formation lap. The rain was not a dramatic problem at the time, so the normal procedure took place 15 minutes later. However, the next interruption followed less than a minute after the start after Jack Doohan wrecked his Alpine. Carlos Sainz in the Williams also retired on the first lap after an accident.

Alonso also crashes
After a few laps behind the safety car, Norris finally led the field in regular race mode at 15:30 local time. Behind him was Verstappen, who had overtaken Piastri after the regular start. The trio had soon pulled clear of the rest of the competition and the positions behind them were established.

(Bild: SAEED KHAN)

On lap 34, former champion Fernando Alonso hit the wall and the safety car was deployed again. Most of the drivers took advantage of this to make time-saving tire changes in the pits.

The time for dry tires had finally come - but only briefly. The safety car disappeared on lap 41 and the drama began: Because three laps later, Piastri was unable to stay on the track and dropped to the back of the field. Norris was called back to the pits in anticipation of heavy rain, after which Liam Lawson (Red Bull) and Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) crashed - the third deployment for the safety car.

The result:

Norris then maintained the lead at the third restart and was just able to keep Verstappen behind him on the final laps.