Summary

  • Lando Norris wins as late rain shower causes chaos

  • Verstappen second, Russell third, Antonelli fourth after winning penalty appeal

  • Lewis Hamilton 10th on Ferrari debut

  • Oscar Piastri spins off from second place

  • Alonso, Lawson, Bortoleto, Doohan and Sainz crash or spin out

  • Isack Hadjar spins off on formation lap

  • Get involved: #bbcf1

  1. Who is out of the Australian GP?published at 05:46 Greenwich Mean Time

    Lap 49/57

    Liam Lawson (Red Bull)

    Gabriel Bortoleto (ssauber)

    Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

    Carlos Sainz (Williams)

    Jack Doohan (Alpine)

    Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)

  2. Postpublished at 05:44 Greenwich Mean Time

    Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent in Melbourne

    I don't think Ferrari are going to benefit from this because Max Verstappen is right behind them so they are going to pit and lose those positions they gained.

  3. Safety carpublished at 05:44 Greenwich Mean Time

    Lap 48/57

    The gamble for Ferrari has not worked out. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc come in for a changeover and drop down the order to ninth and 10th receptively.

    Oscar Piastri has tumbled down to 13th place, as Norris leads from Max Verstappen and the Mercedes of George Russell. Kimi Antonelli is now up to fifth.

  4. Postpublished at 05:43 Greenwich Mean Time

    Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    If we get a safety car here, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will get a free pit-stop and could end up of the net winners of all of this.

  5. Safety carpublished at 05:42 Greenwich Mean Time

    Lap 47/57

    This is chaos. The Red Bull of Liam Lawson and the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto have both come a cropper on the wet track. hello safety car once again.

    So, Lando Norris is now leading as Max Verstappen comes in to change to inters. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc stay out and are now second and third respectively.

    Now they come in.

    Lando NorrisImage source, EPA
  6. Postpublished at 05:40 Greenwich Mean Time

    Harry Benjamin
    BBC F1 Commentator in Melbourne

    The Australian dreams are dying as Oscar Piastri is spinning his wheels on the grass.

  7. Hamilton leads on slickspublished at 05:40 Greenwich Mean Time

    Lap 46/57

    What drama. Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly have all stayed out and are now the top three. The rain is now heavier so the Dutchman is coming in. Hamilton is moving into the lead on his slick tyres!

  8. Postpublished at 05:40 Greenwich Mean Time

    Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    The problem is no one can afford to step off that racing line because it's very narrow. They are on slick tyres and even if you just move over by a metre you are on the wet stuff, you've got zero grip and you are a passenger.

  9. Verstappen leadspublished at 05:39 Greenwich Mean Time

    Lap 45/57

    The rain has arrives and instantly causes chaos. Lando Norris has dropped to second behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. Oscar Piastri manages to drag himself out of trouble and is back on track.

    Verstappen is told to stay out as Piastri comes into the pits and bolts on the intermediates. Norris is down to sevenths on his green tyres.

  10. get involved

    Get Involvedpublished at 05:38 Greenwich Mean Time

    #BBCF1

    Rachel T: Class 3 rain will cause Class 100 chaos.

  11. Tsunoda up to P5published at 05:37 Greenwich Mean Time

    Lap 44/57

    Charles Leclerc twitches and Yuki Tsunoda pounces. The Racing Bulls man is up to fifth, with Leclerc and his Ferrari dropping down to sixth. Lando Norris has pulled a two-second gap on his team-mate Oscar Piastri.

    Piastri slides off on to the grass! The Australian crowd scream as he a gaggle of cars pass him. And now Max Verstappen takes the lead of the Australian Grand Prix!

  12. Postpublished at 05:36 Greenwich Mean Time

    Rosanna Tennant
    5 Live F1 reporter in Melbourne

    There are just a few spots of rain but it's incredibly windy, so gusty. You can start to feel the rain now, it's starting to come down here in the paddock.

  13. Postpublished at 05:35 Greenwich Mean Time

    Lap 43/57

    DRS is enabled once again with Lando Norris holding a 1.4 seconds advantage over Aussie Oscar Piastri. Norris and his pit wall are trying to judge when the rain will arrive and what strategy to do - they don't want to get caught up in a packed pit lane.

  14. Postpublished at 05:35 Greenwich Mean Time

    Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    I'm excited about this, the pit-walls will be nervous. We've got all the field now on slick tyres on a race track that is about to get a lot wetter.

  15. Track greenpublished at 05:34 Greenwich Mean Time

    Lap 42/57

    We're racing again in Melbourne! Ferrari are telling Charles Leclerc class three rain is on the way in four minutes. Lando Norris leads from McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

  16. Postpublished at 05:33 Greenwich Mean Time

    Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Haas have now aligned their strategy with pretty much everyone else around them so on that sense they are no longer taking a gamble, but taking a gamble when you're last on the field is exactly what you should be doing.

  17. Safety car endingpublished at 05:32 Greenwich Mean Time

    Lap 41/57

    An unsafe release has been noted between Gabriel Bortoleto and Liam Lawson. Meanwhile, Haas have switched Oliver Bearman to medium tyres, but the Briton has rejoined the action right in the path of the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. Trying to clear the backmarkers is proving a tricky task for race control.

  18. Safety carpublished at 05:30 Greenwich Mean Time

    Lap 40/57

    The safety car is leading the Australian Grand Prix as the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso is finally recovered and cleared off the track.

    Lando Norris is given some new information. Some rain that was skirting around the circuit is now inching over head. And it'll arrive before the other predicted shower.

    Lando NorrisImage source, Getty Images
  19. Postpublished at 05:28 Greenwich Mean Time

    Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    I wonder if the two Haas cars may have well have just pulled a master stroke.

    The longer they stay under safety car, the longer they are able to look after those intermediate tyres that they're on while everyone else is on dry tyres.

  20. Postpublished at 05:26 Greenwich Mean Time

    Lap 39/57

    Haas have put their eggs in the intermediate tyre basket - the rest of the field is on a mixture of hards and mediums. Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman are at the back of the pack, but have the team made the right call?

    Esteban OconImage source, Getty Images