The 2025 F1 season gets underway this coming weekend with the field returning to its traditional starting point in Australia.
Last season was one for the annals with some fantastic competitive racing happening throughout the campaign. Our F1 scribe reckons we’re in for another year of competitive action and he also reckons the opener at the Melbourne Street Circuit will be an extremely close run thing.
Check out who he is backing as he runs the rule over the first of this year’s 24 race weekends.
Australian Grand Prix | Sunday 16 March | Melbourne Street Circuit
To Win Race Outright
Lando Norris | Charles LeClerc | Max Versatppen | Oscar Piastri | Lewis Hamilton | George Russell
Off-Season News
– Lewis Hamilton is set to make his Ferrari debut in Melbourne having ended a 12 season association with Mercedes.
– Couple of rookies step up to the mark with Liam Lawson given a full-time seat at Red Bull, F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto getting a drive with Sauber and Isack Hadjar getting a seat at the Racing Bulls, while Oscar Bearman has got a seat at Haas.
– There’s been a slight tweak to the rules for this season with a point no longer being awarded for claiming the fastest lap.
Track
The 5.303 km long track, which encircles the man-made Albert Park Lake, was the first to fall victim to COVID back in 2020 with a late decision seeing the race called off. The event was also called off in 2021 but Racing returned in 2022, although the venue hasn’t hosted the opener since 2019. A recent contract renewal means this will be the first of five season openers to be staged in Melbourne between now and 2035.
Although only a temporary track, it is considered to be the smoothest of all the road circuits due to the revamp it underwent in 1996. A firm favorite among fans and drivers alike, the Melbourne situated track lacks true straits so the DRS zones, situated along the pit straight and between turns two and three, are usually crucial.
If you’ve been watching the news, you’ll know that Australia has been belted with rain this week and it seems some of the remaining deluge from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred will linger with a few showers being forecast for Sunday’s main race.
Looking back to last year’s Grand Prix, it was a Ferrari dominated race with Carlos Sainz claiming the win while Charles LeClerc came home in second. The podium was rounded out by McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Value Bet
Max Verstappen Podium Finish – No
There’s no huge value here but I have a feeling the Red Bulls will struggle early doors in the season. They weren’t great during pre-season testing in Bahrain and failed to find the podium in Australia last year.
To Win Race Outright
Oscar Piastri
I reckon there’s real value here. The young Aussie will have the home crowd behind him and he knows the track pretty well. He managed to bag two race wins last season, showing he can mix it with the best in the business. He also wasn’t far off the pace in Melbourne last year, finishing in fourth. He’s got one of the best cars on track and I reckon he offers real value at this solid price.
