After almost 100 days of waiting, Formula One is ready to hit the track down under for the inaugural Grand Prix of 2025.
The race is held at the historic Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, Australia, which has hosted F1 since 1996. This year, however, is one to watch with five new rookies on the grid and the looming threat of rain.
The first race of the season poses a challenge for the drivers who may still be getting used to their new machinery, and after practice, it seems there's been a shake-up.
In both Free Practice 1 and 2, current world champion Max Verstappen struggled to get to grips with his new RB21 challenger. This came as Williams and Carlos Sainz seemed to have bonded well as the Spaniard finished second in FP2.
The Albert Park Circuit is fast and flowing and a fan favourite due to the great races we've had here. Overtaking opportunities over the 5.2km circuit lie at turn 1, turn 3 and the approach to turn 11.
As it is a temporary circuit, the surface can be quite bumpy. We saw this in FP1 with Haas' Oliver Bearman finding the barrier at turn 12. He missed FP2 as a result which puts him on the back foot with a lack of data.
Talking Points
Rookie line-ups
It's the first time in Formula 1 history that we've had five new drivers on the grid.
The most hyped of them all is Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who has been courted by Toto Wolff and Mercedes since his karting days. He will hope to prove them right after a slightly disappointing outing at Monza free practice last year.
He replaces Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari, meaning he will have the extra pressure of filling in a seven-time world champion's shoes.
Gabriel Bortoleto comes in hot after winning both the F3 and F2 championships in his rookie year. Now he's paired with Nico Hulkenberg, an experienced driver who hopes to lead the team during the Audi takeover in 2026.
Rookies like Ollie Bearman (Haas) and Jack Doohan (Alpine) have had slightly more experience than the other three rookies, as they both contested full F1 weekends in 2024.
While this may not make them faster, it will allow them to feel more comfortable with the format of F1.
Isack Hadjar is the final young driver on the grid and races with the Racing Bulls team. He was promoted as Liam Lawson left for Red Bull and Sergio Perez was sacked.
Hadjar's title battle with Gabriel Bortoleto (that he ultimately lost) in F2 last year will make him want to prove something to himself this year.
With rain on the radar for race day, tune in to watch new drivers tackle one of the hardest challenges in motorsport: dancing these 1000hp cars around a wet circuit.
Performance differences
After three days of testing and thousands of hours behind computer screens, this is the first real test of the cars on track against each other.
Pre-season testing has shown us a sneak peek of what to expect, however the team keep their schedule highly guarded before the season officially begins.
After practice, both Williams look to be in top form but there is not much movement at the top, with the exception of a trailing Red Bull.
McLaren still seem like the ones to beat but Ferrari are hot on their heels. Mercedes are in a similar position to last year where they are in the top four but clearly the weakest.
Last year it was clear that performance was not all we were looking at. Stake F1 Team struggled with the performance of their car as well as getting the wheels on and off in pit stops.
This deficit in pit stops may have cost them points at the start of the season. Teams will be looking to iron this out in the race.
Who to look out for
There's a real sense that Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari have made gains throughout the two practice sessions, meaning they could go even further this race.
Hamilton's driving style is said to be quite different from Charles Leclerc's, who the team mainly built the car around. While Leclerc usually prefers understeer, Lewis Hamilton is comfortable with a car that oversteers and has less rear-end grip.
He said in media interviews after Friday sessions that he has recognised this and the team are making gains in set-up to minimise the deficit.
Race details
The Formula One Luis Vuitton Australian Grand Prix 2025 will kick off at 3pm track time on Sunday 16th of March.
It will be streamed on Sky Sports F1 at 4am. Check local broadcasters for coverage.
