The first race of the year just flew by. No pun intended.
With ever-changing weather conditions—notably all four seasons in three days—and new cars and drivers, it was bound to be an action-packed weekend. The 2025 Australian Grand Prix had new team radio memes, hilarious interview moments, and a rollercoaster of emotions.
Half-Good Half-Bad Day
Our race winner, Lando Norris.
Norris and McLaren showed pace and consistency all weekend, from free practice into qualification. He brought it home by managing his race strategy well and avoiding costly mistakes, even correcting when he put slicks on. I honestly couldn’t stop laughing at his response to his engineer about pitting with only a few laps left.
We even got to start the year with his iconic champagne pop, which was well deserved. X users have perfectly summed up the emotions of his win:
Unfortunately for his teammate Oscar Piastri, despite the brilliant pace, an unfortunate incident at Turn 13 ruined his home grand prix. The weather, as unforgiving and unpredictable as it was, really turned the tide for the McLaren driver on Lap 44 of the race.
It was a testament to Piastri’s grit as he reversed the car and finished the session—even scoring points. Piastri even changed the leaderboard from showing he was OUT. It was truly a well-deserved crowd-roaring moment as he got back on track and fought. To sum up how LandOscar girlies are feeling….well:
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Ferrari Was Drowning… Literally
Only the internet would do the most beautiful thing and capture Charles Leclerc’s hilarious team radio conversation with his engineer. He even knew what the radio interaction would mean, as he ended with “Let’s add that to the words of wisdom”. I don’t need to say much more:
Also, if that wasn’t enough, there are numerous memes focused on Lewis Hamilton’s first race and becoming acquainted with Ferrari’s strategy:
Ferrari made unnecessary and costly mistakes from the tires and pitting, to overall strategy and pace. When Williams and Sauber outscore you, work needs to be done. Hamilton deserves a car capable of his GOAT abilities, and Leclerc has honestly been trying to succeed at his dream with Ferrari for so long that he deserves better.
Here’s to hoping that Hamilton’s sage advice and understanding of the car will be listened to at Ferrari and changes can be made for a better season (for both drivers).
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Tough Day for The Rookies
Unfortunately for most of the rookies, this race took a disastrous turn. Isack Hadjar, Gabriel Bortoletto, and Jack Doohan all crashed out. Hadjar had the hardest one, as it happened in the formation lap before the aborted start.
Despite the pain, we saw something so brilliant. Lewis Hamilton’s father, Anthony Hamilton, came out of the Ferrari garage and found an emotional Hadjar to offer some comfort and words of wisdom. We know that Hamilton is a brilliant man, but indeed, a class act from his dad, especially considering Hamilton is Hadjar’s hero.
Also, before anyone comes at Hadjar, see below for some proof of why this is not another Red Bull ruin:
These rookies are exposed to some of the worst conditions on their first race, and they did their absolute best. Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman prove that finishing the race is a huge feat. Antonelli even had his penalty reversed and ended up at P4. It was a heck of a debut if you ask me, going up 12 places.
The mercedesamgf1 Instagram account even got a handy little help-out from George Russell in updating the race results graphic:
Careful What You Say
That second Red Bull seat is cursed. That has to be the only explanation for Liam Lawson’s awful race.
Lawson came into Formula 1 cocky and took the seat from Yuki Tsunoda, only to be outqualified by him by a lot. And to crash out in the race? Welcome back, Carlos Sainz. Moral of the story: be careful what you say and how you treat your predecessors.
I just know that everyone who ever got kicked out of that second Red Bull seat feels so vindicated after this race. And it’s not that he did something like the rest of them; it’s that he was arrogant when he came into the seat. You have to earn your spot, and to be awarded for bravado is a scary way to start your career.
Side note about Red Bull: to all the haters who keep saying Max Verstappen has beef with everyone, he was smiling ear to ear for Norris, and he and Russell were chatting it up in the cool-down room. He is also entirely joking with the media about how the situation. Aka, everybody is fine.
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For all drivers on the grid, the race was a mixture of emotions, particularly for the rookies, who were nervous about the rain. After an aborted start, several safety car restarts, two rounds of rain, and six drivers out later, we finally saw the sun peek out from the clouds.
For some veteran strong teams, this race was a tough lesson, and for some teams grasping for straws, they finally had some success. In short, WE ARE SO BACK, and strategist Carlos Sainz was so wholesome.
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Next Stop: Shanghai. Formula 1‘s next Grand Prix will be on Sunday, March 23.
