Formula One preview: Australian Grand Prix

19 hours ago5 min read

Written by Rohan Brown, Edited by Marit Everett

Credit: Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool

Formula One is back! The championship’s 75th season begins at Albert Park for the first time since the 2019 season. The 2025 season is predicted to be the closest season yet, and Australia’s Albert park promises to be the beginning of yet another dramatic year for F1. Progressing the close performance that made last year so eventful for the championship.

Circuit Guide

Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia is an exciting street circuit with its wide and twisty turns. Set just outside the heart of Melbourne, it’s one of the most picturesque races on the calendar, surrounding a lake and the Melbourne skyline. The circuit’s public roads also add an element of excitement as it often throws teams off-guard due to its unique and ever-changing surface.

The track has four DRS (drag reduction system) with the sectors mixed with numerous corners, which provide for a circuit primed for racing.

Like any other street circuit on the calendar, the walls are never out of sight. Notably, last year George Russell encountered this issue in the dying moments of Sunday’s Grand Prix.

In terms of tyres, continuing from last year, the tyre provider Pirelli has elected to bring the softest tyres in its range (C5, C4 and C3). Although this can vary, strategy tends to stay the same. The most common tyre strategy for the teams round Albert Park last year was the two-stopper, something they’re likely to repeat this year, bar the possibility of rain.

Storylines

True pace of the cars? - F1 this season is expected to be very close, especially between the top four teams. This will be the first outing where we will see the true performance of the cars, and how the 2024 order has transitioned into this season. How competitive will this year be?
Who will be the home hero(s)? - The only two Australians on the grid, Oscar Piastri and Jack Doohan are the home heroes going into this weekend. While we have two Aussie drivers on the grid this year, eyes will certainly be on Oscar Piastri for a potential first home Grand Prix win. Will Piastri be able to clinch victory or will the curse of no Aussies on the podium in Australia live on?
Hamilton’s first race with Ferrari - After all the anticipation, it is finally here. Albert Park marks the first time Lewis Hamilton is racing for the Scuderia. A possible contender for victory for sure, so going into this race, this will be a storyline to look out for. Will Hamilton be on the top step on Sunday?
New faces on the grid - We have five rookie drivers this season, with eight of the ten teams having a new driver competing in their lineup— Andrea Kimi Antonelli for Mercedes, Oliver Bearman for Haas, Gabriel Bortoleto for Kick Sauber, Jack Doohan for Alpine and Liam Lawson for Red Bull. With this weekend being their first race of 24 in a full year’s campaign in Formula One, each with a different amount of previous F1 experience. How will they fare?
Will it be a competitive opener? - With this season shaping up to be one of the most competitive to date, how close will this race be? Or will it turn out last previous victories at Albert Park, won by a country mile.

Winner picks

This year looks to be highly competitive, but these three drivers out of the many drivers are who I think could win this year’s first Grand Prix in Melbourne:

Oscar Piastri - Home hero and a potentially strong car. Piastri has both the skill and seemingly the car to back that up. So he is certainly a strong candidate going into our first race weekend. Piastri has also been very competitive against teammate Lando Norris, especially last season. The potential for the home hero to clinch victory is high, the Aussie’s success at McLaren last year certainly proves there is a high chance at the top step in Melbourne.
Lando Norris - With the way the 2025 season is shaping up, there is a case for many drivers. Lando Norris has proven he has the ability to secure a dominant win - like we saw at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix (where he won by over 22 seconds) and the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix win. Like with teammate Piasti, his team will seemingly have the best car, giving both drivers a good chance at winning.
Lewis Hamilton - A curveball, but a driver who can never be written off. The Briton begins a new chapter at the Scuderia this season and Ferrari themselves seem to also bring a highly competitive car to the field. The most Grand Prix wins of any driver in the history of F1, he is a strong contender. There is high potential for the seven-time world champ to win at Albert Park. After all, everyone is a Ferrari fan.

Notes

There are many rule changes that have been made by the FIA(Fédération Internationale de L’Automobile) ahead of the 2025 season. The fastest lap bonus point has been removed, alongside new rules to prevent drivers overheating and DRS restrictions (the rear wing deflection and the rear wing gap slot).

Under the new rules, the rear wing must return to the fully closed position, with the slot gap increasing from 10 newtons to 30 newtons, among other changes.

Additionally, teams will now have to give rookie drivers at least two free practice sessions per driver.

Weight limits have also increased - the minimum limit for the drivers up by 2 kg (now 80 kg) and the car weight is also up by 2 kg (now 800 kg).

Previous winners at Albert Park

Albert Park has been home to many different victors in the last few years, seemingly one of the few to not be recently dominated by Verstappen.

Last year’s race was won by Carlos Sainz, as the Spaniard was able to capitalise on Verstappen's rear right brake and suffered extreme damage when it went on fire. The race also had a couple of retirements, with Mercedes duo George Russell and Hamilton both unable to finish the race.

Other victors include Valtteri Bottas in 2019 and Charles Leclerc in 2022, both won in dominant fashion - by over 20 seconds to second place for each of them.