Five Formula 1 Winners & Losers: Australian Grand Prix

The Formula 1 season has begun, and with quite a bang.

A wet race in Australia with 5 rookies in the field made people expect some chaos, and boy did chaos come.

So let’s dive right in with our first winners and losers of the season.

Losers

5. Haas

Last year, Haas was surprisingly good!

This year, after testing and one race, Haas has been absolutely nowhere near the points.

It’s a very, very bad start, and considering other results from this race, it’s not crazy to say it may have already put Haas set to finish dead last in the constructors championship.

4. Yuki Tsunoda

Yuki Tsunoda had a phenomenal weekend.

He put his Racing Bull in 5th, and at one point was second in the race.

The second place was obviously not going to last, as he needed to pit for wet tires which would have put him back, but he would have gotten good points.

And then, tragically, a poor pit stop put him all the way outside of the points.

Nothing to show for a fantastic weekend.

3. Isack Hadjar

Hadjar had a really good qualifying weekend himself!

And then two turns into the formation lap, he lost it and crashed into the wall, ending his first ever Grand Prix before it even started.

Hadjar was horribly upset after the crash.

Hopefully he dusts it off before this weekend in China.

2. Oscar Piastri

Not only was Piastri having a great home race, he was even catching his teammate Lando Norris for a chance to win at his home track and make a statement to start the season.

And then, in changing conditions, both McLarens lost control and went off the track, and Piastri unfortunately couldn’t save it and got stuck in the grass, ending his chances of a win.

1. Liam Lawson

Something has to be wrong with that second Red Bull car.

Liam Lawson had a horrible qualifying, a horrible race, and then crashed the car.

Red Bull switched to Lawson from Sergio Perez because Perez did not have the results Red Bull needed.

It’s only been one race, and the conditions were tough, but Liam Lawson has not gotten off to a good start.

Winners

5. Nico Hulkenberg & Lance Stroll

Did Nico Hulkenberg or Lance Stroll do anything special during the race?

No, not really.

But they crucially didn’t crash or get into any mistakes.

And on a weekend like this, where everyone is making mistakes, being consistent is good enough, because Hulkenberg finished 7th and Stroll finished 6th, getting huge points to start the year for their team.

In fact, Hulkenberg’s 6 points for Sauber this weekend was more than they had all year in 2024.

Keep it simple, stupid.

4. Lando Norris

That McLaren is a rocket ship, and that helped Lando keep Max Verstappen behind at the end despite Verstappen’s DRS, but that doesn’t take away anything from a great drive from Lando Norris, and a big statement win to start the year on a potential championship run.

3. Oscar Piastri

I know, I know.

He was in the losers section.

Hear me out, though.

Lando Norris does not win the Australian Grand Prix without Oscar Piastri.

When Piastri got stuck in the grass, he very, very easily could have been stuck there.

If he got stuck, the safety car would’ve been obliged to come out, putting Lando Norris in 5th, behind Max Verstappen, Yuki Tsunoda, Lewis Hamilton, and Pierre Gasly. Lando would’ve likely gotten by Tsunoda, Hamilton, and Gasly, but he would’ve been way behind Verstappen.

But Piastri didn’t get stuck.

Instead, he reversed out of the grass to stay in the race, got intermediate tires on, kept the safety car out and helped Lando Norris get the win.

He also got two points himself thanks to a ridiculous last lap move around Lewis Hamilton.

He deserves some love for that.

2. Alex Albon

Carlos Sainz was the talk of the town at Williams ever since testing, and at practice as well.

As he should have been. He looked extremely quick.

But it was Albon who showed his dominance this weekend, with a 6th place qualifying and a super clean race to finish 5th and get huge points for Williams.

I am very, very high on Williams this season, and Albon’s performance shows me I was right to be.

1. Kimi Antonelli

We witnessed a star being born.

Unfortunate damage during qualifying meant rookie 18 year old Kimi Antonelli was dropped in Q1, and would have to spend his first ever Grand Prix in the rain, cutting through the field and trying to get some decent points.

He was clean. He was quick. He had ridiculous overtakes that you usually see from veteran drivers, and he went from 16th to 4th.

He won’t be perfect this season, but we saw what Mercedes was so excited about.

The kid is unbelievable.