Lando Norris takes blame for making ‘mistakes’ despite winning Australian GP

Lando Norris kicked off the 2025 F1 season with an impressive victory at the Australian GP. The British driver seemed comfortable with the McLaren MCL39. However, the treacherous conditions made it a challenge for Norris. The 25-year-old even confessed that he did make some errors on his way to the top step of the podium.

Norris started the race from pole position ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri. Initially, the 25-year-old seemed to be right at home in first place. Though, once rain poured on-track, the McLaren star struggled with grip and lost crucial time to Max Verstappen. He pitted for intermediates and recovered shortly afterwards.

The McLaren star claimed that the track conditions caught everyone by surprise in the latter half of the race. He accepted that made mistakes which pushed his car onto gravel. Lando Norris revealed that this damaged the car, which could’ve impacted his pace. Nevertheless, the five-time race winner asserted that McLaren made the right calls despite the tricky situation.

The British driver insisted that he was delighted to have won the Grand Prix. Norris pointed out that the race was unpredictable and winning it made it even more fun. The 25-year-old highlighted that he managed to stay ahead till the chequered flag while Max Verstappen was less than a second behind.

Oscar Piastri devastated after Australian GP

Oscar Piastri on the other hand, was hoping to steal victory away from Lando Norris. The Australian driver seemingly had the pace to overtake Norris in the early stages. Though, the McLaren pit wall instructed him to not make any moves until the track had become more favorable to drive.

Once rain came back on-track, Piastri lost control and found himself stuck on the grass. After a mega effort by the 23-year-old, he was able to get back in the race. Albeit he had lost a lot of time and was out of contention. This was particularly heartbreaking since it was his home race.

Oscar Piastri admitted that he was greatly disappointed with the result. Piastri emphasized that he did have the pace to win. However, the Aussie simply lost control in the race and ended any chances of a good result. Nevertheless, he thanked his team and thousands of fans at Albert Park who cheered for him throughout the course of the weekend.

The Australian driver did try to do damage limitation by the end of the race. Piastri even overtook Lewis Hamilton in the ending stages and finished the race in ninth place, with two points to his name.

McLaren set for dominance in 2025?

The Australian GP was the perfect demonstration of McLaren’s pace advantage against rivals. Apart from Max Verstappen, no driver even came close to being a threat to Norris or Piastri. Even Verstappen himself was struggling to match the pace of his arch-rival by the end of the race.

It is still early days in the 2025 season, but this still sets the stage for McLaren’s title defense. The Woking-based team undoubtedly has the upper hand in terms of performance. Although, Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari are not too far behind and could pose real threats on certain weekends.

One thing is certain, fans are in for a treat this year. After a chaotic and eventful race in Australia, there is a lot to look forward to for this season of Formula 1. While one can already expect a fierce battle for the world champion between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri will likely not be far behind. Moreover, drivers like George Russell and Lewis Hamilton might also have an outside chance.

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