Lando Norris claimed a dramatic victory in the opening race of this year’s Formula One season in Australia on Sunday. The British driver was able to fend off the challenging conditions and the threat of four-time reigning champion Max Verstappen to top the podium and kickstart his season with the maximum 25 points. Norris started the race in pole after McLaren dominated Saturday’s qualifying – his teammate Oscar Piastri rounded off the front-row to start in second. But even after McLaren’s imperious qualifying form, Norris was wary of the threat of Verstappen from third on the grid – and he was right to be. In a race heavily impacted by safety cars and – in the latter stages – rain, Verstappen never allowed Norris the comfort of a big lead and chased him down to the bitter end. When the chequered flag was eventually waved, Verstappen was just 0.895 seconds behind Norris, who admitted he had to check his mirrors a few more times than he’d have liked. “It was amazing,” the 25-year-old told the broadcast after his win. “A tough race, especially with Max behind me, I was pushing. It was, especially the last two laps, a little bit stressful, I’m not gonna lie, but amazing way to start the year.” Norris admitted that it wasn’t a perfect race, but he did enough in the conditions to earn the win alongside his team. “We got it wrong a lot last year, so I guess we learned from our mistakes,” he added. Mercedes‘ George Russell completed the podium in third with his teenage rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli racing impressively to finish fourth. Antonelli was originally given a time penalty which was later overturned.
Source: edition.cnn.com