The dust has settled on the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and we have now had a good look at Formula One’s 10 teams. With that in mind we offer our assessment of how the teams should be feeling after their first real test of 2025.
We can look at the headline lap times and standings to see how fast each team is. This is more a ranking of how happy each team should be, taking into account their progress as well as expectations.
We considered several factors. One, a team’s qualifying performance or their ‘raw pace rating’, expressed a percentage of the overall fastest lap time of qualifying – the lower the better. Two, their race performances compared to the race at the same track in 2024, as well as their final six races of last year. The order below is also based on ‘feel’ as well as the numbers.
10. Ferrari – They cannot be this bad in China, can they?
You do not have to dig deep into the numbers to see that Ferrari’s opening weekend was miserable and well below expectations. When it came to push the car, they had problems and qualified seventh and eighth. That was behind not only two McLarens and the lead Mercedes and Red Bull but also a Williams and a Racing Bull. They finished 2024 strongly, scoring more than any other team in the final six rounds with their one-lap pace on a par with McLaren.
Melbourne was a wake-up call. Their race result might have been better had they not botched the strategy of both their drivers. There is one small note of cheer, though. Had Hamilton been able to string together his best three sectors he would have qualified fifth and 0.4sec off Norris, not the nearly 0.9sec in reality. They surely will not be this bad in China this weekend.
Last six rounds of 2024 raw pace rating: 100.252%
Australian GP raw pace rating: 100.878% (+0.626%)
9. Haas – No pace in any condition
Haas went into last year’s season opener with publicly low expectations and managed to exceed them throughout the year. This year the opposite looks likely. In Melbourne, they were by far the slowest team in qualifying and well adrift of next worst Sauber. And this is normally a track they go well at.
They, along with Ferrari, were the only teams both worse than their 2024 qualifying averages and their points average for that final run of 2024 too. Last year a race in changeable conditions like this would have been a good opportunity for them to score decent points. Yet Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon lacked pace in all conditions.
Last six rounds of 2024 raw pace rating: 100.910%
Australian GP raw pace rating: 102.731% (+1.821%)
8. Alpine – A wasted opportunity
There are only two teams who should be genuinely upset at their showings in Melbourne. Alpine are ranked this low because they only improved their qualifying pace compared to this race last year (when they were slowest) and failed to score any points after a strong finish to 2024.
Clearly there are mitigating factors. Firstly, Pierre Gasly looked comfortable in the top 10 until a small error dropped him back. Secondly, Jack Doohan did not even manage to get to the end of the first racing lap. Nothing to be too disheartened about, but a missed opportunity that they may have taken last year.
Last six rounds of 2024 raw pace rating: 100.836%
Australian GP raw pace rating: 101.177% (+0.341%)
7. Aston Martin – A smidgen of encouragement
Aston Martin will rightfully be delighted with Lance Stroll’s sixth place. They could be crucial points come December. Their qualifying pace is roughly where it was at the end of last year. That, though, is not a good thing because they were the eighth fastest team in that period. Still, at least they are not any worse.
There was encouragement in the race, as they turned 12th and 13th on the grid into points contention. That eventually became eight points as Stroll kept his nose clean and delivered a strong final stint. A dry race in China will be a much more representative test but given where they finished last season, this is progress.
Last six rounds of 2024 raw pace rating: 101.563%
Australian GP raw pace rating: 101.587% (+0.024%)
6. Racing Bulls – Promising, but poor luck cost them
Every single team from this point upwards should be pleased in some way. Racing Bulls showed significant improvement in qualifying from both this race last year and the end of last season. Yuki Tsunoda’s fifth on the grid was a superb result but Isack Hadjar just missing out on Q3 on his debut underlines the car’s potential over one lap.
Tsunoda was on course to claim a top-six finish until he made an error in the final downpour, dropping him out of the points. We never got to see Hadjar’s pace but there is plenty for the team to be optimistic about, even if they will rightly be rueful of the final outcome.
Last six rounds of 2024 raw pace rating: 101.221%
Australian GP raw pace rating: 100.764% (-0.457%)
5. Red Bull – Improvement needed for another title
The encouragement will be that the team managed to dial out some of the RB21’s unpredictability over the weekend. That enabled Max Verstappen to deliver (as he usually does), third in qualifying and a strong second place on Sunday.
The primary concern will be that the rain allowed Verstappen to use his skill and close the gap to the McLarens. That he was even in contention on the final lap was because of numerous safety cars. Sadly, Liam Lawson has very much begun where the troubled Sergio Perez left off, too. Definite improvement needed if Verstappen is to claim another title.
Last six rounds of 2024 raw pace rating: 100.291%
Australian GP raw pace rating: 100.513% (+0.222%)
4. Sauber – In dreamland after best result since 2023
Given that Sauber scored four points in the entirety of 2024 and have six after one round in 2025 you might expect them to be higher than fourth in this list. Nico Hulkenberg’s performance was perhaps more situational (rain and numerous faster cars retiring) than representative of the car’s potential, as welcome as the points will be.
The German kept out of trouble in the race after a strong start and brought it home in seventh. Still, given how poor their 2024 was they have continued their improvement that began at the end of last season. It could be a fight between them and Haas to stay off bottom. Sauber now have the upper hand.
Last six rounds of 2024 raw pace rating: 101.609%
Australian GP raw pace rating: 101.891% (+0.282%)
3. Mercedes – Antonelli’s debut a huge cause for hope
Since their last championship in 2021 Mercedes have struggled to adapt to the current era of ground-effect cars. 2024, though, was their best year with five victories. They appear to have continued an upward trend at the start of 2025. Their qualifying pace (George Russell was on the second row) was marginally worse than where they finished last season, but significantly better than this race last year.
Third and fourth place in the race would have been fourth and fifth had Oscar Piastri managed to keep his car on the black stuff. Still, that would have been 22 points and they averaged 20.7 per round in the final six weekends of last year. Most encouraging for them would have been the sterling performance of Kimi Antonelli who drove from 16th on the grid to fourth at the flag.
Last six rounds of 2024 raw pace rating: 100.434%
Australian GP raw pace rating: 100.599% (+0.165%)
2. McLaren – Even better than 2024
The headline facts say that McLaren ended last year as the quickest team, locking out the front row and winning the race, as they did in Melbourne this weekend. No change then? Not quite. Dig a bit deeper and there is solid progress.
Along with Williams they are one of only two teams who improved their points average from the end of last year as well as their qualifying pace both to last year’s race in Australia and to the final six races.
Telegraph Sport columnist Gary Anderson also noted the MCL39 appears to be a step up from last year’s championship-winning MCL38. Lando Norris and Piastri put that to good use for most of the weekend. When the race and weather settled down they were the class of the field, 17 seconds ahead of Verstappen and 30 ahead of Russell by lap 32 of 51. This has not been a traditionally strong track for them, either.
Last six rounds of 2024 raw pace rating: 100.252%
Australian GP raw pace rating: 100.000% (-0.252%)
1. Williams – A radical transformation
17 points in the entirety of 2024 and 10 in just one race in 2025 – there is no doubt that Williams should be the happiest on the grid. Whilst other teams’ successes in Australia came as a result of conditions or owed something to fortune, Williams delivered what they deserved. It could have been even more had Carlos Sainz not crashed out under the safety car.
Qualifying was their best team result (Alexander Albon sixth and Sainz 10th) in years. No team has improved by as large a margin over one lap as Williams. In the race, Albon managed to keep Hamilton behind him for much of the race and then stayed in the top six in difficult conditions. In 2024 that Williams would likely have slipped back out of the points. A radical transformation.
Last six rounds of 2024 raw pace rating: 101.643%
Australian GP raw pace rating: 100.854% (-0.789%)
