Australian Grand Prix talking points: McLaren's strategic flaw exposed again in barnstorming opener

What a race. What a way to open the season. F1 is definitely back for 2025, and if the Australian Grand Prix is anything to go by, we’re in for a treat.

McLaren may have dominated but there was plenty of action to keep the fans entertained, although the reigning Constructors’ Champions may already be showing a few cracks that hampered them in 2024.

There were also six rookies (sort of) to talk about and a certain Canadian driver who delivered once again to very little fanfare.

It’s time to learn more in the first race talking points of 2025.

McLaren starts off perfectly but strategy cracks still showing

For the first time since 2012, McLaren have won the opening race of the season.

It should’ve been their first 1-2 to start a season since 1998, but a piece of grass and some water on the track had other ideas.

And although it was a dominant weekend for the Woking outfit, you do already have to question what is going on in the strategy room.

Fresh off a 2024 that raised many questions about how they dealt with team orders, and also after both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were quizzed about the so called implementation of ‘Papaya Rules’ all weekend, the team decided to make both drivers hold station during the crucial middle parts of the race.

This came after Piastri closed right up on Norris and looked set to challenge him for the win, while the threat of rain lingered over head.

(Photo by Getty Images)

While it may have seemed safe to do so to prevent an unnecessary incident with drama coming, why on earth should there be any form of orders being put into place in the very first race of the season?

If Piastri was fast enough to pass Norris, he should’ve been allowed to challenge him. Both drivers are capable of racing hard while keeping it on the track, and it would’ve provided an entertaining battle to really set up a tense battle in 2025.

The fact we are even talking about this in the opening race raises more questions than it should, and it remains to be really seen if the team is going to stick to their belief that ‘Papaya Rules’ is a thing of the past in 2025 or if we’re about to see it happen again all over this year.

Australian curse continues

There have been a total of 39 Australian Grands Prix as part of the World Formula One Championship since 1985.

In those 39 races, there have been a total of zero (legal) podiums for an Australian driver at the Australian Grand Prix.

2025 looked like it was to finally be the year that this curse was broken. No more Webber near misses. No more Ricciardo disqualifications. Finally, Piastri was to taste some glorious champagne in front of a sellout crowd desperate for some Aussie success.

But on lap 44, every single Australian F1 fan felt a dose of déjà vu, as Piastri found his way in the grass and ended any hope of an Aussie podium.

Asked about what Australia has to do over the next 12 months in order to help break the curse at Albert Park, a disappointed Piastri told The Roar that perhaps some extra gardening could occur at the circuit.

“If they could mow the grass about a couple of inches shorter that might help,” he said. “I think it's obviously a shame with how it went today. I felt like the crowd deserved to have a podium so it obviously hurts at the moment that I can't be up there.

Despite the disappointment, Piastri remained upbeat that the curse could be broken next year.

“If we've got a car like we had today in the future, hopefully we don't have to wait too much more.”

Webber’s fourth in 2012 and Ricciardo’s fourth in 2016 & 2018 remain the best finish for an Australian at the Australian Grand Prix.

Not quite a red letter debut for Hamilton at Ferrari

For all the hype that surrounded Lewis Hamilton in Melbourne for his Ferrari debut, the seven-time World Champion left slightly disappointed.

At no point across the weekend did Hamilton look likely to crack the top three, and in the end he only left Australia with a solitary point, his worst ever finish at the Australian Grand Prix.

But despite the result, the entire red experience for him was quite different to what he was used to.

Facing the question several times across the four days in Melbourne, Hamilton was always buoyant about the entire experience at Ferrari, and how it had been like nothing he had ever experienced before.

Even seeing just how the fans and media were around him was also different, with just the aura of Ferrari and the aura of Hamilton coming together in a way that just felt right.

So while Hamilton in red leaves Australia not where he would’ve been hoping for, the Hamilton-Ferrari era has truly begun.

Six rookies, six different stories at Albert Park

A year ago in Australia there was not a single rookie racing around Albert Park. This time around there were six.

Technically you could argue there were only three, given that three of the ‘rookies’ had raced in F1 before. But for all six of them, it was their first time racing in Melbourne, and all six of them found themselves experiencing something different.

Oliver Bearman had the lion share of disappointment across the weekend, finding himself out of two practice sessions and starting from the pit lane for the race. He was however one of only two rookies to finish the race, giving him a slight advantage over those around him.

The other driver to finish the race was Kimi Antonelli. Not only did he finish, he found himself in an impressive fourth place, giving him the best F1 debut since Kevin Magnussen finished second at the Australian Grand Prix in 2014. It was a strong recovery by the Italian who had qualified at the back of the grid and struggled for most of the weekend to be on the pace compared to his teammate George Russell.

Perhaps the most intriguing rookie of the weekend was Aussie Jack Doohan. Having had his season written off before it began and many expecting him to be dropped at some point this year, he actually performed solidly all weekend and was very unlucky not to make Q3. But a spin and crash in the race put that effort to bed, giving his strong home race a disappointing finish.

Isack Hadjar also impressed across the weekend but had it all come to a head after embarrassingly crashing out on turn one of the formation lap. A heartbroken Hadjar was in tears as he went back to the paddock, and was consoled by Lewis Hamilton’s father as he tried to hide his disappointment. Despite that setback, there are some strong signs moving forward.

Gabriel Bortoletto was on a similar page to both Doohan and Hadjar. Strong performances all weekend before a disappointing crash in the race. There will be more to come from the Brazilian in 2025 for sure.

Which leaves the final note of the rookie report on Kiwi Liam Lawson. The most experienced rookie of them all had a nightmare weekend in Melbourne, constantly off the pace of teammate Max Verstappen, out of qualifying in Q1 and finding himself in the wall during the race.

A certain Mexican driver might be watching from afar wondering why Lawson was seen as an improvement for 2025, but Lawson has many more opportunities to come to show why that was the case.

Stroll shines through the chaos

When cameras cut to a green car crashed in the wall, everybody had the same thought as to who it was.

Even as an avid Lance Stroll fan and defender, I too gave a subtle head shake and expected it to be car number 18 as the latest retirement from the race.

However, it was Fernando Alonso who had crashed out, not Stroll, giving my head shake a sense of smile and relief from that point on.

Especially given that Stroll was actually driving a fantastic race, staying out of trouble, showing his skill in the wet and bringing home his best finish since the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix and equaling his best ever start to the season.

Of course as we know nobody talked about it. Nobody acknowledged it. But it’s my job right now to do so to point out to the Stroll haters that the man is a capable driver and a dependable pair of hands when it comes to doing his job right.

This article was originally written for The Roar. You can read the published version here