Search
06 Sept 2025
Search
06 Sept 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Image: amandes, Pixabay
The 2025 Grand Prix season resumed its traditional starting venue at Albert Park in Melbourne but was a crash course for all concerned with appalling weather.
It certainly proved a crash course for the five rookie drivers, with only two finishing the race, one of whom was in last place. The others crashed out in a humiliating fiasco brought on by torrential rainfall and high winds.
New boy Isack Hadjar only got as far as turn 2 on the formation lap before meeting the barrier, so he has yet to experience a real F1 start. Jack Doohan also hit the barrier but got as far as lap 1, while Gabriel Bortoleto managed more laps before ending his race early on the sidelines.
Brit Oliver Bearman was to be commended for at least surviving to the end, albeit in last place. However, the star of the show was 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli, who replaced Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes team and ended up in an excellent 4th place. He is certainly one to watch.
Even seasoned drivers Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso got caught out and ended up in the barriers.
Lewis’s maiden outing in the Ferrari was a disappointment for all his fans, but the weather simply made the result a lottery for everyone, and this was no true test of his phenomenal experience and skill.
He will soon settle into his new car and team, I am sure. We hope for better things next time out in China, where the weather should be fine and warm.
The clear standout winner of the day was Lando Norris in his McLaren, who kept four-time world champion Max Verstappen at bay despite the Dutchman’s best efforts.
His victory in Australia also confirms the general belief that he represents the best chance of halting Verstappen’s string of four consecutive championships from becoming five this season.
The McLaren pairing of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri looks a great match without the usual egos getting in the way. This duo and their cars became highly competitive around halfway through 2024 and appear to have retained that momentum.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
