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MELBOURNE: Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton racing a Ferrari for the first time. Reigning world champion Max Verstappen arriving without a lot of mileage in his Red Bull. Lando Norris helping McLaren set a benchmark with his pace in testing.
Formula 1 is expecting a hyper-competitive milestone 75th anniversary season in 2025, and it starts this weekend with the Australian Grand Prix. There’s no shortage of unknowns in terms of the pecking order, and the weather.
Most of the headlines ahead of Sunday’s Australian GP have revolved around Hamilton’s move to Ferrari from Mercedes.
The normally relaxed pre-event news conference at Albert Park was overflowing with journalists and photographers on Thursday to hear from a rejuvenated Hamilton about how much he’s enjoying the prancing horse-ride.
The 40-year-old British driver is going into his 19th season in F1 but has had a different outlook since his first day in January at the Scuderia’s Maranello HQ, where he’s teammates with Charles Leclerc.
“I don’t really approach this role with pressure,” Hamilton said. “I think over the years, the pressure I put on myself has always been 10 times higher than any other pressure that could be put upon me. I haven’t joined this team and been made to feel any pressure.
“I have an expectation for myself — I know what I can bring. I know what I can deliver. And I know what it’s going to take.”
McLaren’s pace
Norris has been trying to downplay his long-run pace that impressed the paddock during pre-season testing in Bahrain last month and made McLaren an early-season favorite.
“I know there’s a lot of expectation,” Norris said. “It was just my one race run I did that kind of just made everyone believe this quite heavily. It was a good race run, but it was also in the most perfect conditions.”
He tried to temper expectations by saying McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri ‘s run the following day “was a lot slower.” “Not because he drove worse,” Norris explained, “but simply because the conditions on the final day were considerably slower.”
There’s no denying, though, that McLaren is confident going into the opening race of the season, even if they’re not quite sure of their ultimate pace.
“No one really knows what to expect,” said Piastri, who is aiming to become the first Aussie to win the Australian F1 Grand Prix.
“Testing went pretty well, but you don’t know where everybody stands. I think we’re pretty happy with how our test went, but Melbourne is a completely different track to Bahrain. Weather is going to be different to Bahrain and different every hour, by the look of it.”
Friday practice
Ferrari took the contest to long-time rival McLaren in the second practice as Leclerc closed out the session on top, just over one-tenth of a second ahead of Piastri and Norris
Leclerc and Norris traded fastest times throughout the late afternoon run, with their pace witnessed by 125,548 people at the leafy inner-city Albert Park circuit, a record Friday crowd for the Australian Grand Prix.
Hamilton had a much stronger second session for Ferrari, with the seven-time world champion finishing fifth, just over fourth-tenths behind teammate Leclerc.
Red Bull’s second team, Racing Bulls, shaded the main squad, with Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar showing surprising speed to end the session in fourth and sixth.
World champion Max Verstappen could do no better than seventh, almost a half-second behind in the second session. Haas rookie Oliver Bearman didn’t enter the second practice after his crash in the morning session.
The final practice will precede Saturday qualifying, which starts at 4 p.m. local time (0500 GMT).
Weather update
Piastri, born and bred in Melbourne, is correct. The southern Australian city is set to deliver this weekend on the famous “four seasons in one day” expression that often describes Melbourne’s ever-changeable weather.
The Albert Park circuit should be comfortable for F1’s opening practice sessions on Friday, with a partly cloudy day expected and a top of 27 degrees Celsius (80 Fahrenheit). Temperatures are expected to rise to 37C (98F) on Saturday for qualifying and then drop again again for the race on Sunday, when there’s also rain on the forecast.
A wet race would certainly mix things up, with teams needing to guess on setup following two days of dry running.
Verstappen, though, whose Red Bull team did the least mileage in pre-season testing, says he’s prepared for any conditions.
“I would like it to be dry because it’s just nicer, (and) also for the fans,” Verstappen said. “But if it’s wet, it’s wet. It’s fine as well.”
Piastri won’t be the only Aussie on the Melbourne grid. Jack Doohan, the son of five-time motorcycle world champion Mick Doohan, is starting his first full season with Alpine – which appears to have taken a significant step forward over its 2024 pace.
Although speculation through pre-season has been whether Doohan will keep that seat, with his French team bringing in former Williams driver Franco Colapinto as a reserve.
“I have a contract for at least this year, if not more,” said Doohan, who is one of six rookies this season, the most on the F1 grid since 2001. “And the uncertainties? You don’t bother worrying about them. I think I have to perform each and every time I’m in the car.”
Defending champion Sainz returns
Ferrari secured a 1-2 finish in Melbourne last year led by Sainz, just two weeks after an appendectomy that sidelined him in Saudi Arabia. But the 30-year-old Sainz will likely be fighting for points and not podiums this time around now that he’s at Williams.
“I’m definitely going to do my best to score (points) as soon as possible,” Sainz said.
Ferrari is the most successful team in Australia with 14 GP wins, dating back to Adelaide in 1987. Hamilton is one of five drivers on the current F1 grid to have won in Melbourne, with his victories in 2008 and 2015.
Sunday’s season opener will be the 39th World Championship Australian Grand Prix, and the 28th in Melbourne. It starts at 3 p.m. local time (0400 GMT).