Red Bull began the 2025 Formula One season with Max Verstappen taking a podium at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Verstappen began his quest to win a fifth consecutive Driver’s Championship by finishing second to McLaren’s Lando Norris, having battled with both Norris and his team-mate Oscar Piastri before the latter span in wet conditions in the final third of the race.
It was a difficult debut for new Red Bull team-mate Liam Lawson, however, who started from the pit lane and ended up crashing out after spinning in wet conditions near the end of the race.
An eventful race in wet-dry-wet conditions saw the Australian Grand Prix feature three safety cars, six failures to finish and one crash on the formation lap.
The drama began early at Albert Park, as F1 debutant Isack Hadjar crashed within two corners of the formation lap on a damp track, meaning the Racing Bulls driver for Red Bull’s second team had the unfortunate distinction of beginning his F1 career with a Did Not Start.
Verstappen initially made a charge off the line when the start eventually happened 15 minutes later, getting past Piastri before a safety car was summoned when Alpine’s Jack Doohan crashed out, with Williams’ Carlos Sainz spinning out under the consequent safety car.
Lawson, meanwhile, had started from the pit-lane after Red Bull made a late set-up change, putting him near the back of the pack.
When racing resumed, Verstappen initially kept Piastri at bay, and had been in a position to challenge Norris for the lead of the race in the opening stages.
But Verstappen ran out of tyre life, and on lap 17, a moment where the Dutchman ran wide saw him lose track position to Piastri, who were able to break free of the Red Bull and open up a gap of over 10 seconds.
On lap 34, the complexion changed again when Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso crashed out, triggering the second safety car of the day just at the point when dry tyres became viable after a race that had exclusively been on intermediate tyres to that point.
Verstappen remained third while Lawson remained outside the points when racing resumed on lap 41, but on lap 44, a further shower arrived, drenching the track further.
Both McLarens went off in the final corners, with Piastri getting beached by the final chicane before eventually rejoining way outside the points.
Norris would meanwhile immediately choose to change to intermediate tyres. This opened the door for Verstappen to take the lead, but with the rain getting heavier, Red Bull abandoned the gamble after two laps and put the Dutchman back on intermediate tyres.
This put him back in the pack, but eventually he would be second when those who’d gambled on staying out even longer gave up and changed back to intermediates.
One of those who had gambled was Lawson, who’d got into the top ten but was struggling to keep it on track and eventually, at the start of lap 47, Lawson spun and crashed into the wall, ending a difficult first race for Red Bull’s main team early.
Lawson wasn’t alone, with F1 debutant Gabriel Bortoleto having his own spin in the Sauber, triggering a third safety car.
When racing restarted with five laps to go, Verstappen was this time able to stick closer to Norris, who had suffered damage in his excursion over the grass when the rain came. But although he was able to get within the one second DRS gap, Verstappen couldn’t make his move as Norris closed out the job to win the race. The duo were joined by George Russell on the podium.
Red Bull will be hoping to bring a first winners trophy to Milton Keynes next week, when the field heads to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix, including a first sprint race of 2025.