'Piastri should be FURIOUS with McLaren' - Australian Grand Prix Hot Takes

oscar piastri, zak brown, lando norris, mclaren, graphic — Photo: © IMAGO

GPFans Hot Takes

'Piastri should be FURIOUS with McLaren' - Australian Grand Prix Hot Takes

The GPFans team's hot takes from the Australian Grand Prix

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 16 March 2025 08:57 Updated: 10:00

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What a start to the 2025 Formula 1 season!

Crashes. Safety Cars. Rain. And McLaren team orders...

Whilst Lando Norris secured the first win of the year, the Australian Grand Prix will be remembered for McLaren's demand for Oscar Piastri to 'hold his position' against his team-mate, contrasting with Zak Brown's message that his drivers are free to race.

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Elsewhere, the rookie drivers struggled to stay out of the barriers, and Red Bull got away with developing a weak car after the rain played perfectly into Max Verstappen's hands.

The GPFans team give their hot takes, and brutal opinions from the 2025 Australian GP.

Zak Brown sent out mixed signals regarding his drivers

GPFans Australian Grand Prix Hot Takes

Matt Hobkinson - Global Lead Editor

Oscar Piastri should be furious with McLaren.

In his home race, breathing down the neck of his team-mate Lando Norris and McLaren tell him to hold positions?

Okay the fault that cost him a podium – or even a race win – will be attributed to driver error ultimately, but did the team put him under unnecessary pressure? Absolutely.

Will the hypocrisy of Zak Brown saying ‘We go racing’ sting for Piastri? You bet.

This could have been a once in a lifetime victory for the Aussie in front of an adoring crowd, but instead he is left to lick his wounds and takes home just two points.

McLaren will win the constructors’ at a canter this year, but they need to mange their driver pairing so much better if they want total and utter dominance.

Chris Deeley - F1 Journalist

Death, taxes and the Australian Grand Prix being unnecessarily chaotic. What a way to get into the new season.

It felt like we’d have a better idea of the order of the field by the end of the weekend, but all we know is that McLaren are comfortably better than anyone else.

Don’t let the close finish fool you, on long run pace Max Verstappen’s Red Bull ate its tyres like a kid with their first Easter egg and he’s going to have to get used to the smaller steps on the podium this year.

Beyond that, though? Hell if I know. Kimi Antonelli finished fourth on the road? We didn’t get a chance to see what Carlos Sainz looked like in race trim? Ferrari absolutely screwed up their strateg—okay, yes, that one we could’ve predicted.

Oh, and Haas have given their drivers an absolute dud again. The more things change…

McLaren hold the advantage over Red Bull

Sam Cook - F1 Journalist

The Australian Grand Prix once again proved why it absolutely has to kick off every season. After a few years of starting the season in Bahrain, Melbourne 2025 made us realise that it is the best option for a season opener.

The chaos that has ensued at the 2023, 2024 and now 2025 events have made it one of the most enjoyable races on the calendar, and for new F1 fans just getting into the sport, this year’s race is bound to have kept them interested beyond the first race.

It had everything. Safety cars, crashes, a variety of strategy options available for teams and some drivers skidding around in wet to dry back to wet conditions.

On-track, and this race has backed up the idea that McLaren have a supremely dominant car, we are likely to see a championship battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Both drivers were the fastest on the track in the dry and in the wet, with just one unfortunate skid in the wet costing Piastri dear at his home race. But let’s not forget that before all the chaos, the pair had pulled out a 16-second gap to the next fastest man on the track, Max Verstappen.

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Max Verstappen is going to claim the 2025 Formula 1 world title.

'But it was Lando Norris who won the first race’, I hear you cry in protest!

Well, yes technically true, but Verstappen should not have been that close to a victory, especially with the advantage McLaren held over their rivals in Melbourne - with Verstappen running 16 seconds behind the McLarens at one point.

Okay, so the wet weather conditions, multiple crashes and the safety car helped him out a bit, it is still impressive how Verstappen closed in for the win and showed once again how formidable he is in chaotic conditions.

Don't discount the champion from the title fight, and even if the team have not provided him with the best car, McLaren's team order fiasco proves that Norris and Oscar Piastri's ever increasing rivalry could be their downfall in 2025.

Which of course plays perfectly into Max Verstappen’s hands…

Simmey Hannifin-Donaldson - US Lead Editor

Lewis Hamilton isn't winning his eighth championship at Ferrari this season. Period.

Whilst there has been plenty of discussion over the off-season about just what a fairytale story it would be for the seven-time champ to make it eight in red, the thrilling season opener in Melbourne highlighted just how far from reality that notion is.

Not only do Ferrari not look as competitive as everybody had hoped and expected, the snappy exchanges with his new race engineer really made it hit home just how much of an adjustment period the Brit is having to go through - an aspect of the move that has been massively underplayed in my opinion.

Lewis Hamilton struggled to get to grips with his Ferrari

Don't get me wrong, he will get there in the end. He is an icon of the sport and I don't subscribe to the train of thought that age has caught up with him or that he's over the hill, or anything like that.

It's just that by the time he gets up to speed and truly feels comfortable in the red car, Lando Norris is probably going to be too far out of reach, especially if the pace of the McLaren on the dry tyres today was a representation of what's to come at most circuits this campaign.

All eyes on 2026, I suppose.

Ronan Murphy - Social Media Editor

The first race of the season is at 4am UK time. Who thought this was a good idea? What a way to alienate casual fans of the sport.

The race itself? I don’t know. I was asleep. I’m not getting up at 4am for nobody. Not even Hamilton in red.

Written by

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Sheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.

View full biography

Red Bull Max Verstappen McLaren Lando Norris Oscar Piastri Australian Grand Prix