12 months ago, the thought that McLaren would dominate the 2025 season opener would have been unfathomable to most. All teams in the paddock, who were dreaming of toppling Red Bull back then, had given up even before the Bahrain GP — the first race of last year’s campaign — kicked off. The tables have turned now and that’s what Max Verstappen has done.
The Red Bull driver was never the favorite to win in Melbourne. McLaren was firmly expected to be the fastest and the Woking team ended Saturday with smiles on everyone’s faces. Even Lando Norris admitted that the car had “unbelievable” pace.
Norris secured the pole position, with Oscar Piastri in second. Verstappen came third, almost half a second behind the Briton, who was his only real title challenger last year when he won his fourth crown.
Well, 2025’s title picture is still far from being set. Verstappen could still be a challenger or perhaps even win it. But as for Sunday’s race, the Dutchman does not see himself standing on the top step of the podium.
“I don’t expect any kind of miracles about it,” he said after qualifying, per F1 journalist Luke Smith. “I think it’s [Red Bull’s performance] OK, but not on the same level [as McLaren]. I’ll just do my best and do what I can tomorrow.”
Coming into the Australian GP weekend, most had predicted Ferrari or Mercedes to be chasing McLaren in the pecking order. However, Verstappen, much like in 2024, didn’t leave any room for error and maximized the RB21’s performance to finish P3. But was the car really fast, or did the 27-year-old overperform?
After all, his teammate Liam Lawson could not even get out of Q1 and will line up 18th on the grid tomorrow. For Red Bull, this is a huge blow. After dealing with Sergio Perez’s woeful results throughout 2024, they’ll find themselves with just one car in the front of the grid once again. At least for now.
Quali complete! Max secures P3 with a strong performance
Liam faces a tough P18 after a challenging session, missing crucial practice in FP3. But we’re ready to come back stronger! #F1 || #AusGP pic.twitter.com/85oAYkIuh7
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) March 15, 2025
To battle two super-fast McLarens single-handedly might be too big of a task, even for the Dutch lion.
Verstappen not the only one wary of McLaren threat
Mercedes looked quick at Albert Park, and like Verstappen, George Russell did the best he could to put his Mercedes in fourth position at the end of Q3. But the Briton sounded pessimistic post-qualifying, as he admitted that McLaren was so superior that they could already start focusing on the 2026 season.
“It’s what we expected, to be honest, we’ve seen how strong they are,” the Kings Lynn-born driver said. “They’re at such an advantage because they can stop development now and go fully on ‘26 and it’s difficult to overcome that gap.”
In 2024, Red Bull started the year strong as well. Verstappen was around six-tenths of a second faster than the second-best drivers but as the year progressed, the gap reduced and Red Bull fell down to P3 by the end. Russell, however, does not see this happening to McLaren.
Because according to him, Red Bull did things to their car that undid their hard work over the winter.
No better way to start the season #McLaren | #AusGP pic.twitter.com/RmjG6JTeMq
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) March 15, 2025
“McLaren are in prime position for now and the future,” the Mercedes driver added.
For McLaren, this is the best possible start to the season. A 1-2 finish in qualifying can only be topped by retaining the same order in the race. Last year, the Woking stable struggled to pull that off on several occasions. Can they do it Down Under? Only time will tell.
