Five things to watch out for at the 2025 Australian GP

Is McLaren really that much faster than others?

McLaren looked mighty in Bahrain. There may have been some differences in predictions regarding the pecking order ahead of the Australian GP, but pretty much everyone expects the Woking team to at least start the season with the strongest package.

“In the long run the comparison depends on how much fuel they had,” Helmut Marko told ServusTV the other day. “They were consistently half a second to a full second faster, but they didn’t top the speed trap numbers. This suggests that they weren’t running at full engine power. If we see the same results in Australia, then it’s clear – McLaren will be first and second.”

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL39

Photo by: Erik Junius

So far, there’s been little to cast doubt on the words of Red Bull’s racing advisor – especially as the Bahrain circuit hasn’t historically been one of McLaren’s favorites. And yet now they seem almost too strong there.

But pre-season testing is just pre-season testing and, as we’ve heard a million times before, nothing is certain until qualifying in Melbourne. And until this Saturday, the question remains: is McLaren really the team to beat in Formula 1 now?

– Oleg Karpov

Verstappen has ruled Red Bull out of the fight for victory – but is that true?

It would be a mistake to rule out Max Verstappen and Red Bull as contenders for victory in Melbourne. While the Dutchman himself insists the team has a lot of work to do and believes McLaren currently holds the advantage over the rest of the field, testing at the Bahrain International Circuit isn’t usually the most reliable indicator.

The track’s abrasive asphalt and this year’s unrepresentative conditions can easily distort the true competitive picture. Similarly, Albert Park, with its street circuit characteristics, is a track where it’s really difficult to predict performance beforehand – and it often produces a different pecking order from the rest of the season.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

Ironically, Max doesn’t like to make predictions, so we could interpret his comments as more of a strategic move to put pressure on Red Bull to bring updates early in the season and address the issues he is still experiencing with the car.

– Erwin Jaeggi

Hamilton’s first race for Ferrari

Ferrari arrives in Australia with two different kinds of emotions: Hamilton’s enthusiasm – he can’t wait to start this new adventure – and the team’s own realism, because they are aware that there is still a lot to understand about the car after the huge amount of work that has been done to unlock more potential for development. And this will be one of the themes of Hamilton’s first race: will the SF-25 suit his driving style?

Some of the problems Mercedes has experienced in recent years have greatly hindered Hamilton. With the bouncing and that “unpredictable” character of the car, he lacked confidence, especially in the rear. And that affected his performance, especially in qualifying, where the driver has to find the limit.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari SF-25

Photo by: Ferrari

Without those limitations, he can – and must – take a step forward: Lewis’ driving ability is phenomenal, he’s shown it in the past, but if he starts from the back foot it won’t be easy to make up the ground.

– Gianluca d’Alessandro

Which team will be the best of the rest?

It will be enthralling to see which of McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes comes out on top in Melbourne, but things will be equally fascinating behind the four behemoths. The midfield’s pecking order got pretty competitive by the end of the 2024 season, and everything points to a similar situation this time around.

Of course, it would be easy to look at Williams and say ‘well, they were fastest overall in Bahrain’, but lap times from pre-season testing are not usually representative. Williams does seem to have made good progress though and probably enjoys the strongest driver line-up of all midfield outfits with Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon.

Carlos Sainz, Williams

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Pierre Gasly has called on Alpine to grab that best-of-the-rest spot after the squad finished the previous campaign strongly, and Aston Martin will have equally ambitious targets – though the team is mostly banking on the 2026 rules with its new hire Adrian Newey, and its pre-season testing did not go that well.

Haas and Racing Bulls can’t be ruled out – especially the American team, which has worked a lot on long runs and whose Ocon/Bearman line-up has high potential. On the other hand, the VCARB 02 may have pace but looked difficult to drive, with both its drivers maybe slightly less reliable than their peers in terms of avoiding errors.

Sauber most likely won’t be in contention for Q2 or points as its focus firmly is on the start of the Audi era in 2026.

– Ben Vinel

Doohan’s defense begins in Melbourne – and he doesn’t have much time

It is go time for Jack Doohan with Alpine in F1. Yes, he made his debut in Abu Dhabi last December, but that was a last-minute call-up where he couldn’t do much. Now the real test begins and it will be fascinating to see how he copes with the challenge on his home turf in Melbourne.

Jack Doohan, Alpine

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

There’s probably no other rookie – and we have plenty of them this year – who has had to deal with the pressure of delivering so quickly. But that seems to be the situation Doohan finds himself in for the Australian GP and the foreseeable future.

Alpine’s team boss Oliver Oakes has already praised his driver for being “punchy” with the media when asked if Franco Colapinto’s presence in the team was a direct threat to his seat, but Doohan will now have to provide an answer where it really matters, and that will be at the Albert Park circuit next weekend.

With Alpine showing good speed at the Bahrain test, real or not, Doohan will need to stay within striking distance of his much more experienced team-mate Pierre Gasly in Melbourne. Doing so will be his best shield against future media interaction.

– Federico Faturos