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The 2025 F1 season opened with the Australian Grand Prix held on March 16 at Melbourne's Albert Park Circuit. Lando Norris of McLaren crossed the checkered flag first to win his first race of the season while Max Verstappen and George Russell finished P2 and P3, respectively.
However, the race was not a smooth one due to the wet conditions triggered by heavy rain and as a result, many drivers, especially rookies, struggled to control the car on a slippery track. As many as six drivers faced DNFs while a few barely managed to finish.
On that note, let us take a look at five drivers who lost big in Australian Grand Prix 2025.
#1 Liam Lawson
Red Bull brought in Liam Lawson with a lot of hope after sacking Sergio Perez at the end of the 2024 F1 season. However, his first race was an absolute nightmare, as he struggled to challenge his peers. Moreover, as rain started pouring down, on lap 47, Lawson spun around the track and hit the walls, marking the end of his unfortunate debut for Red Bull.
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#2 Oscar Piastri
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri benefitted from his car's superior pace and qualified P2 to get a front-row start along with his teammate Lando Norris. Piastri had a brilliant start to the race, and he consistently challenged Norris in the first half. However, on lap 44, with the rain pouring, the Australian driver slipped off the track and got stuck on the grass.
Piastri was later able to rejoin the race but he slipped to P11 by that time. Despite overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the last lap to finish P9, the Aussie missed out on a comfortable podium finish and was perhaps the biggest loser of the race.
#3 Yuki Tsunoda
Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda stunned the fans with a sensational P5 finish in the qualifying session. However, a strategy error from Racing Bulls cost Tsunoda valuable points. With rain pouring, many drivers pitted for intermediate tires but VCARB Tsunoda to stay out, anticipating the track to dry out quickly.
The call, however, backfired as Tsunoda had to pit a few laps later due to extreme wet conditions and lost position, finishing P12. If not for the strategy, Tsunoda was a strong contender to get points in Australia.
#4 Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz made his debut for Williams Racing in Australia after getting sacked by Ferrari last season. He had a promising outing in the qualifying session, finishing P10 and had a good enough pace to score points.
However, the Spaniard had an unfortunate crash during the race's opening lap when he hit the barriers under the safety car. His teammate Alex Albon, on the other hand, had a strong finish, bagging P5.
#5 Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton made his highly-anticipated debut for Ferrari at the Australian Grand Prix and had an opportunity to get points when he climbed to P1 following a frenzy of pit stops.
However, as rain poured, Ferrari made a bold call to keep their drivers out on slick tires while others pitted for intermediate ones and this disastrous strategy proved to be disastrous in hindsight, as Hamilton had to come in for a change of tires much later than his peers and as a resultedly, he eventually dropped to P10.
