Everything you need to know about the 2025 Australian Grand Prix
The Australian Grand Prix is back to being F1’s season opener. Here’s everything you need to know about the race, from who’s driving to how to get tickets
By Cayle Reid
THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX just feels like it should be F1’s season-opening race. Since Melbourne has hosted the event, the Aus GP, as its known, has been the season opener 22 out of 27 times, but it hasn’t held the first slot since 2019. Thankfully, the powers that be have recognised it’s not a race you can shuffle down to a measly third on the schedule. With things put right, the Australian Grand Prix is returning to the first slot on the 2025 F1 calendar.
Having the opening slot comes with a few perks. Most notably, the 2025 Australian Grand Prix will be the first time we see Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel of a Ferrari. It will also mark the full-season debuts of six rookie drivers – the most since 2001. We also can’t overlook the fact that with Red Bull’s fall off, McLaren’s rise, Mercedes’ resurgence and Ferrari’s all-star driving duo, we can expect a far more tightly contested field this season. The Albert Park circuit will provide the first stage for a much needed reset of the pecking order.
As you can see, the marketing team for the 2025 Australian Grand Prix will not have a difficult time in convincing viewers to tune in. But ahead of the big race, we’ll help you get back up to speed on when and where to watch, how to get tickets and all the major storylines at play.
When is the Australian Grand Prix?
Race weekend for the 2025 Australian Grand Prix is March 14 – 16, with the race being held at 3 pm AEDT on Sunday, March 16. Practice begins two days earlier on the 14th, with three sessions being held before qualifying runs on the 15.
How to watch Formula 1 in Australia
The 2025 Australian Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Network 10 and available to stream on 10Play. It will also be broadcast live on Fox Sports, in addition to every other F1 race, and available to stream on Kayo Sports.
Who are the new drivers in Formula 1?
The 2025 F1 grid features a near-record number of rookie drivers. Six rookies will make their full-season debut in 2025, meaning they’ll make up 30 per cent of the entire driver lineup. This is the most rookies since 2001, when there were seven. There’s still a possibility that more rookies could debut as the season progresses when other drivers face injuries or demotion.
Here’s a look at the new faces you’ll be seeing at the Australian Grand Prix.
Liam Lawson
While he’s by no means new to the F1 grid, having already taken part in 11 races over the last two seasons, Liam Lawson will make his full-season debut in 2025. He’ll have a bigger spotlight on him than most other rookies though, as Max Verstappen’s running mate. Red Bull made the decision to drop fan-favourite Sergio Pérez at the end of last season and promoted Lawson to his seat over other highly-touted drivers like Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo – so Lawson will likely face heavier scrutiny right from the get-go. Still, with a number of impressive performances under his belt already, the New Zealander has proven he has the talent to overcome adversity.
Jack Doohan
With Daniel Ricciardo departing, it briefly looked like Oscar Piastri would be the lone Aussie on the grid for the 2025 season. Then Alpine made the decision to promote their reserve driver, Jack Doohan, to a full-time role. The son of five-time MotoGP champion Mick Doohan, the younger Doohan has been primed for an F1 promotion for years. He finished second in the F3 championship in 2021, and second in the F2 championship in 2023, so he has the resume. Alpine was sitting eighth in the constructor’s championship with four races to go last season before a late resurgence raised the team to a sixth-placed finish in the standings. Doohan will have his work cut out for him.
Oliver Bearman
19-year-old Oliver Bearman made headlines when he was thrust into a daunting role early in the 2024 F1 season. In just the second race of the year, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was forced to withdraw due to appendicitis, leaving the team’s then-18-year-old reserve driver, Bearman, to fill his spot. To everyone’s surprise, Bearman finished in an impressive seventh place. He would go on to make two appearances for Haas during the 2024 season, finishing no lower than 12th, and it’s with Haas that the Englishman will get a full-time role in 2025.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
It is rare that a driver will make his debut at a younger age than Andrea Kimi Antonelli. In fact, Antonelli will become the third-youngest F1 driver of all-time when he debuts at the Australian Grand Prix. Such is the strength of Mercedes’ belief in the Italian’s potential that the team didn’t seek a more experienced driver to fill Lewis Hamilton’s shoes, but has bet it all on Antonelli becoming F1’s next superstar.
Gabriel Bortoleto
Despite the nation producing some of history’s greatest drivers in Ayrton Senna and Nelson Piquet, a Brazilian hasn’t won an F1 race since Rubens Barichello in 2009. Gabriel Bortoleto will be looking to change that. The 20-year-old won the F3 and F2 championships in back-to-back years in 2023 and 2024, propelling him to a full-time seat at Sauber. Bortoleto’s new team finished dead last in the 2024 constructor’s championship, so don’t expect too much from him in 2025. But with Audi taking over the team in 2026, the rising Brazilian could be one to watch for the future.
Isack Hadjar
Liam Lawson being elevated to Red Bull left a vacancy at sister team, RB. Isack Hadjar will be the man to fill it. The 20-year-old Frenchman finished second in the 2024 F2 championship behind Bortoleto and will now look to prove himself at RB before making like Lawson and earning a promotion.
How many km is the Australian Grand Prix?
The Australian Grand Prix is around 307km long, with 58 laps of the 5.278km Albert Park circuit.
Australian Grand Prix tickets
Tickets for the 2025 Australian Grand Prix are available at Ticketmaster, but all allocations on race day are already exhausted. The only remaining tickets are for Thursday and Friday, March 13 –14, when practice runs will be held.
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