F1 Australian GP LIVE: Race start time with Lando Norris on pole position for season opener

Kieran Jackson15 March 2025 06:10

Kieran Jackson15 March 2025 07:30

Charles Leclerc after qualifying P7:

“The lap wasn't great, all in all, we just didn't have the pace today. We mainly struggled with the balance of the car and putting it all together, so we have some work to do.

“We expect rain and tricky conditions for the race, so we will give it everything and see what's possible.”

Kieran Jackson15 March 2025 15:10

Toto Wolff on 'impressive McLaren'

“We were in the mix today and that was encouraging. We showed improved speed in FP3 having made some changes overnight.

“Whilst we looked like we were in the fight for pole position at moments in Qualifying, the McLarens were very impressive;

“I think it’s fair to say that they had a couple of tenths advantage over us on the optimal lap.

“Overall, it is a good start to the new season with the W16. It all looks close at the front, and we will see what we can do tomorrow.”

Kieran Jackson15 March 2025 14:03

Lewis Hamilton warned over Ferrari honeymoon

Lewis Hamilton has been warned that getting used to how things are done at Ferrari after 11 years with Mercedes may take a little time, even though he has made a promising start to life in Maranello.

Writing in his season preview for Sky Sports, F1 pundit and commentator Martin Brundle gave his thoughts on Hamilton’s switch.

“The Ferrari move does seem to be working for Lewis. I've never seen him smile so much,” wrote Brundle.

“He seems really energised and invigorated by this new opportunity. Lewis has been very smart too. Obviously, he knows team boss Fred Vasseur very well from times of old, but he's had an advance party at Ferrari to integrate as quickly as he can into the team. Angela Cullen has returned, while Marc Hynes has been back in the fold for a year or two now already.

“He's got a new race engineer, Riccardo Adami, and has got to understand how Ferrari works, which will be diametrically opposed to how Mercedes works in terms of culture I suspect, in terms of procedures. Lewis is going to have to find out where all the green buttons are and I expect it will take him a little bit of time to get used to that, along with speaking some Italian.”

Luke Baker15 March 2025 13:07

Max Verstappen on the potential of a tight F1 season:

“Impossible to know at the moment.

“We are not the quickest at the moment but it’s a very long season.

“From the start of last year to the end, a lot of things can change quickly in Formula 1?”

Kieran Jackson15 March 2025 12:03

Oscar Piastri on winning his home race:

It would be really special, I’m not setting my sights too firmly on that.

“It would be very special, it would mean a lot. To have an Aussie on the podium, that would be a good start, if I can be on the top step...

“Putting national pride aside, I want to do it for myself as well.”

Kieran Jackson15 March 2025 11:14

Kimi Antonelli after qualifying P18:

“It was a bit unfortunate. On the medium [tyres], obviously, it needed another lap to come in, but then we switched to softs, and I think after T6 the car was quite damaged.

“I don’t know how much it was in time, but I could feel a big loss in the straights, and then also quite a big loss in aero load.

“Definitely, the car was not the same as it was before that, and unfortunately it compromised the Qualifying.”

Kieran Jackson15 March 2025 10:14

Liam Lawson after qualifying P18:

“We expected the start of quali to be tough, to be honest,” Lawson said.

“The first laps, we expected to be off, and then we were just planning on building through the session, but obviously going off on that second lap sort of put everything out of order a bit.

“Then the last lap was good, honestly, just until the last sector where I just had a big drop.

“Missing P3 obviously doesn’t help any of this, but I shouldn’t be going off in quali so…”

Kieran Jackson15 March 2025 09:22

Kieran Jackson15 March 2025 08:57