Melbourne, Australia (AFP) — Lando Norris kept his cool in a rain-hit and incident-packed season-opening Australian Grand Prix Sunday to edge world champion Max Verstappen with Lewis Hamilton 10th on his Ferrari debut.

The pole-sitting Briton took the checkered flag by less than a second from the Dutchman, with Mercedes’ George Russell third after a chaotic race in Melbourne that saw three drivers crash before the end of the first lap.

With the safety car repeatedly forced into action after a slew of accidents on the wet Albert Park circuit, Norris held on to clock a fifth grand prix win and second in a row after topping the podium at the final race of 2024 in Abu Dhabi.

RB rookie Isack Hadjar, Alpine’s Jack Doohan and Williams’ Carlos Sainz — last year’s winner — all failed to finish the first lap on a track made treacherous by earlier torrential rain.

Norris came into the season as a favorite for the 2025 drivers’ title and cemented his status as the man to beat.

“It was amazing, a top race, especially with Max behind me. I was pushing, especially the last two laps — it was a little bit stressful, not going to lie,” Norris said.

“Tricky conditions, but there are the ones that are enjoyable and we ended up on top so I’m happy.”

Verstappen, who is aiming to become the second driver to win five straight world titles after Michael Schumacher, was in the hunt early but an uncharacteristic error on lap 18 dented his chances until another safety car put him back in the frame.

“It was a difficult race, but at the end it was fun,” said the Dutch star.

“It was pushing, fighting for the win but I’m just happy to bring it home, score good points and this is a good start for us.”

In the unpredictable conditions, with rain on and off, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli was an eye-opening fourth on his debut while Williams’ Alex Albon came an encouraging fifth.

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was sixth ahead of Nico Hulkenberg in a Sauber.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc came eighth, with Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri and Hamilton rounding out the top 10.

Russell was content with the third, given the circumstances.

“It was a great race to come home in P3. And well done to Lando, a race like that when you are leading is probably your worst nightmare,” he said.

“I was quite enjoying it to be honest, hoping the two guys ahead made a mistake and I could slip through.”

While torrential rain eased for the main event, the tricky conditions were rammed home when Hadjar skidded and hit the wall on the formation lap and was out before the race even started.

The start was aborted and when the green lights finally came on, Norris, on intermediate tires, made a clean jump and kept his position at the first corner.

Max pressure

Verstappen also had a flying start and passed Piastri to go second while Leclerc moved up two places to fifth.

But the race was interrupted minutes later when Doohan plowed into the wall, then the experienced Sainz did the same on his Williams debut.

They restarted after a safety car with Norris holding his spot ahead of Verstappen and with Piastri they began pulling clear of fourth-placed Russell.

With the track drying, the gap to Russell was eight seconds by lap 13.

But with his tires starting to wear, Verstappen brushed the gravel on lap 18 and Piastri flashed past back into second.

Norris and Piastri powered 18 seconds ahead of the Dutchman before Fernando Alonso put his Aston Martin into the wall on lap 34 and the safety car came out again.

All teams used the opportunity to make their pit stops with Norris and Piastri emerging on hards and Verstappen on mediums.

After the safety car peeled off, Norris flew into a two-second lead before Piastri, pushing hard, skidded onto the grass to drop down the field as Verstappen powered past.

But again a safety car was required when Red Bull’s Liam Lawson spun, with Norris, Verstappen and Russell the top three at the restart with seven laps left.

Verstappen pressed Norris hard for the win when they got going again, but the Briton was able to hold on.