Kimi Antonelli was able to overcome a spin in the rain in his Formula 1 debut, and he crossed the finish line in fourth place after starting the Australian Grand Prix all the way back in 16th.
The Mercedes rookie, however, was demoted to fifth place as a result of a five-second penalty that was issued to him for an unsafe release from his pit stall ahead of Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, who finished in seventh.
The penalty promoted Williams' Alex Albon to fourth place. With Mercedes' George Russell in third place, scoring 15 points, Antonelli's fifth place finish meant that the Silver Arrows walked away from Albert Park Circuit in second in the constructor standings with 25 points.
Reigning champions McLaren walked away as the leaders following a dominant weekend, even after the win almost got away from Lando Norris. Norris scored 25 points, and Oscar Piastri was able to rally from his own spin to score two points with a ninth place finish, placing the team two points ahead of the Brackley-based squad.
But Mercedes appealed the penalty, and after providing Formula 1's technical team with footage from the roll hoop camera on Antonelli's W16, it was made clear that the release was not actually unsafe.
As a result, the 18-year-old Italian was reinstated into fourth place, netting him 12 points instead of 10.
So now McLaren have company atop the constructor standings, with Mercedes now level with the Woking-based team on 27 points.
McLaren are still the official leaders, since the tiebreaker is wins and the score is 1-0 in that category, but Mercedes are now indeed tied for first place after initially ending the Grand Prix in sole possession of second.
Williams remained in fourth place, even with Albon having been sent back to fifth after his initial promotion to fourth with Antonelli's penalty.
Hulkenberg's seventh place finish netted Sauber six points, two more points than they had throughout all of last year, and it places them ahead of Ferrari for sixth in the standings, just behind Aston Martin after Lance Stroll's extremely underrated sixth place effort has them positioned in fifth.
Here are the standings among the seven teams that actually scored points in the 2025 season opener.
Rank | Team | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|
T-1 | McLaren | 27 | (0) |
T-1 | Mercedes | 27 | (0) |
3 | Red Bull | 18 | (-9) |
4 | Williams | 10 | (-17) |
5 | Aston Martin | 8 | (-19) |
6 | Sauber | 6 | (-21) |
7 | Ferrari | 5 | (-22) |
Who will emerge as the constructor championship leader following this Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix? Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who finished in second place in Australia, won both the China sprint race and the Grand Prix last year.
ESPN is set to provide live coverage of the 2025 season's second race from Shanghai International Circuit beginning at 2:55 a.m. ET this Sunday, March 23. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!