Australian Grand Prix: Norris - Verstappen - Russell

      Dull. It rains at times. Air +15C, highway +19C

      The first race of the season is an event, especially in Melbourne, especially in the rain. This is a real challenge, not a continuation of winter testing, like the Bahrain race that opened the season in recent years.

      The changes in the balance of power did not attract as much attention as the changes in the lineups. In the offseason, only two teams retained the squad – McLaren and Aston Martin. Hamilton joined Ferrari, Sainz joined Williams, and six rookies joined at once. The stable regulations guaranteed a tight fight during a race-packed season, which many had previously called one of the most interesting in history. Let's see!

      Charles Leclair showed the best time in a Ferrari on Friday, and the McLaren drivers were in the lead on Saturday. In qualifying, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri tied for pole position, occupying the entire front row of the starting field. Verstappen and Russell started from second, Tsunoda and Elbon started from third, and Ferrari got only the fourth row.

      Isaac Hajjar, who started 11th at Racing Bulls, became the best rookie, but Oliver Berman from Haas had an accident twice over the weekend, did not complete a single lap in qualifying and was allowed to start by the stewards' decision. Berman and Lawson started the race from the pit lane - the teams adjusted the settings in a closed park.

      Pirelli brought a soft trio of compounds to the stage – C3, C4 and C5 in the roles of Hard, Medium and Soft, but the riders drove most of the distance on intermediate tires.

      If the teams worked in comfortable conditions on Friday and Saturday, then on Sunday it got colder, it was raining, and a strong wind was blowing. In the morning, rivers of water flowed along the track, seagulls and ducks perceived the park territory as extensions of the lake, and the Formula 2 race had to be canceled after several attempts to start. By the start of the Grand Prix, the rain had stopped, but there was still a lot of water on the asphalt.

      On the warm-up lap, Hajjar spun around in a small puddle, crashed into a barrier and broke his suspension. The start was postponed for 15 minutes to evacuate Hajjar's car, and the driver burst into tears.

      The race distance was shortened by one lap.

      Everyone started on intermediate tires. At the start, Norris retained the lead, Verstappen was ahead of Piastri in the fight for second place. Leclair moved up to fifth when another rookie, Jack Duane from Alpine, crashed his car after turning around at the exit of turn five. The safety car pulled out.

      Already in safety car mode, Carlos Sainz crashed the car – the Williams was blown off in the last corner.

      To evacuate Sainz's car, the peloton cut the pit lane turn around and around while the marshals dealt with the consequences.

      Top ten on lap 2: Norris - Verstappen - Piastri - Russell - Leclair - Tsunoda - Albon - Hamilton - Gasly - Alonso.

      On lap 5, Lawson and Okon changed tires, putting in a fresh set of intermediate tires.

      On the 8th lap, the restart was announced. All the riders retained their positions.

      The track was still wet when the riders were able to use the DRS on lap 12. On lap 15, Antonelli was ahead of Hulkenberg, but then Kimi's car spun around and Nico was back in front.

      On lap 16, it started to rain again.

      On lap 17, Piastri overtook Verstappen in Turn 11, moving up to second place. Antonelli was ahead of Hulkenberg again.

      On lap 20, Lawson was ahead of Okon in the fight for 15th place.

      On lap 23, Antonelli beat Stroll to 11th place.

      On lap 30, Piastri caught up with his leading teammate and was preparing to attack when the team told him to stay in position so as not to risk a double descent. Then Piastri made a mistake, Norris accelerated, and the issue was dropped.

      Top ten on lap 33: Norris - Piastri - Verstappen - Russell - Leclair - Tsunoda - Albon - Hamilton - Gasly - Alonso.

      On lap 34, Alonso crashed the car. The safety car pulled out. All the riders changed their tires, switching to slicks. Bortoleto received a five-second penalty for an unsafe exit from the pit lane.

      On lap 42, the restart was announced. Norris retained the lead.

      On lap 44, Tsunoda was ahead of Leclair in the fight for fifth place.

      The rain increased. Piastri flew out and got stuck in the grass, but then he was able to get out. Most of the riders have been in the pits, returning to the intermediate tires.

      Verstappen, Hamilton, Gasly, Tsunoda and Leclair did not go to the pits, but gradually they switched to intermediate tires. Lawson and Bortoleto crashed the cars. The safety car pulled out.

      The top ten behind the safety car: Norris - Verstappen - Russell - Albon - Antonelli - Stroll - Hulkenberg - Gasly - Hamilton - Leclair.

      On lap 51, the restart was announced. Norris retained the lead. Leclair beat Hamilton with a risky attack. Piastri overtook Okon and Tsunoda.

      Gasly made a mistake and missed the Ferrari drivers, but held off Piastri's attack. On lap 55, Oscar beat Pierre to 10th place.

      Top ten on lap 55: Norris - Verstappen - Russell - Albon - Antonelli - Stroll - Hulkenberg - Leclair - Hamilton - Piastri.

      On Lap 56, Verstappen caught up with Norris and attacked him for the lead, but Lando stayed ahead. Piastri beat Hamilton in the fight for ninth place. Antonelli received a five-second penalty for an unsafe exit from the pit lane, dropping to fifth place.

      Lando Norris won the Australian Grand Prix for the first time, taking his fifth career victory and becoming the driver of the day.

      Max Verstappen finished second, George Russell took the third step of the podium. The best newcomer was Kimi Antonelli, who finished fifth. Four newcomers couldn't cope with the difficult conditions at once and dropped out of the race.

      Next week, the fight will continue in China, where we will have a weekend with a Saturday sprint.

      Race results

      Pilot

      

      The Time Team

       Speed

       Pit

      1. L.Norris

       McLaren

       1:42:06.304

       176.786

        

      

      2. M. Verstappen

       Red Bull

       +0.895

       176.760

        

      

      3. D.Russell

       Mercedes

       +8.481

       176.541

        

      

      4. A.Elbon

       Williams

       +12.773

       176.418

        

      

      5. K.Antonelli*

       Mercedes

       +15.135

       176.350

        

      

      6. L.Stroll

       Aston Martin

       +17.413

       176.285

        

      

      7. N. Hulkenberg

       Sauber

       +18.423

       176.256

        

      

      8. S. Leclair

       Ferrari

       +19.826

       176.215

        

      

      9. O. Piastri

       McLaren

       +20.448

       176.198

        

      

      10. L. Hamilton

       Ferrari

       +22.473

       176.140

        

      

      11. P.Gasli

       Alpine

       +26.502

       176.024

        

      

      12. Yu.Tsunoda

       Racing Bulls

       +29.884

       175.927

        

      

      13. E.Okon

       Haas

       +33.161

       175.834

        

      

      14. O. Berman

       Haas

       +40.351

       175.629

        

      

      * Kimi Antonelli received a five-second penalty for an unsafe exit from the pit lane.

      Best lap: Lando Norris (McLaren) 1:22.167 (lap 43, 231.246 km/h).

      Reasons for gatherings

      Pilot

       Team

       Circles

       The reason

      is A.Hajjar

       Racing Bulls

      0

      crash

      D.Duane

       Alpine

       0

      accident

      To.Sainz

       Williams

       0

      

      F.Alonso accident

       Aston Martin

       32

      

      The Bortoleto accident

       Sauber

       45

      

      The L. Lawson accident

       Red Bull

       46

       accident

      

      Position in the championship : Personal standings

      Pilot

       A country

       Team

       Points

      =

      1. L.Norris

      

       McLaren F1 Team

       25

      

      =

      2. M.Verstappen

      

       Oracle Red Bull Racing

       18

      =

      3. D.Russell

      

       Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

       15

      

      =

      4. A.Albon

      Atlassian Williams Racing

       12

      =

      5. K.Antonelli

      

       Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

       10

      =

      6. L.Stroll

      

       Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team

       8

      

      =

      7. N.Hulkenberg

      

       Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber

       6

      

      =

      8. S.Leclair

      

       Scuderia Ferrari HP

       4

      

      =

      9. O. Piastri

      

       McLaren F1 Team

       2

      

      =

      10. L.Hamilton

      

       Scuderia Ferrari HP

       1

      

      Championship position : Constructors' Cup

      Team

       The motor

       Points

      =

      1. McLaren F1 Team

       Mercedes

       27

      

      =

       2. Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

       Mercedes

       25

      

      =

       3. Oracle Red Bull Racing

       Honda RBPT

       18

      

      =

       4. Atlassian Williams Racing

       Mercedes

       12

      

      =

       5. Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team

       Mercedes

       8

      

      =

       6. Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber

       Ferrari

       6

      

      =

       7. Scuderia Ferrari HP

       Ferrari

       5