Lando Norris navigated an ever-changing Australian Grand Prix to win the first race of the Formula One season, with last years title rival Max Verstappen chasing him to the flag.

McLaren locked out the front row with Norris alongside teammate and home favourite Oscar Piastri, with Verstappen just behind with George Russell on row two.

Before the race could even get underway however, Isack Hadjar found himself in the wall, a gutting moment for the Racing Bulls man, as his debut was over before it began.

When the lights did go out, Verstappen swept past Piastri as Norris held the lead from pole, but again running was curtailed this time by Jack Doohan who lost his Alpine whilst accelerating and was a passenger into the wall.

The safety car was deployed but the drama didn’t stop there as Carlos Sainz spun into the wall at the final corner as the field bunched up and all of a sudden the pack was down to 17.

When we did go racing, Norris looked to stretch his legs up front and despite his best efforts Verstappen could not keep up with him or Piastri, who slipped back past the Dutchman after a trip wide.

As the field switched to slicks, the weather turned once again and as the rain fell, both McLaren’s went wide. Piastri was worse off, as he was sent spinning into the grass and tumbled down the order to the horror of the Aussie spectators.

Ferrari meanwhile decided to attempt to stay out on slicks in the wet, a decision which would prove costly as they were forced to box just a few laps later leaving their drivers towards the bottom end of the points in a race to forget for the Scuderia.

Norris fended off a late charge from Verstappen as Russell took home a positive third. Elsewhere there were standout drives from Antonelli, Hulkenberg and Albon who all finished in the points impressively.

Attention now turns to China next weekend in round two and the first sprint weekend of the season.