THE BIG PICTURE: We don't want to say this has the feeling of a McLaren runaway season. After all, we said that this time last year about Red Bull. And everything will change one way or another when the new flexi wing rules are enacted at Spain. Plus, this is Australia, where you are never supposed to draw massive conclusions. Not to mention, it's just the first race. But, this has the feeling of a McLaren runaway season.

EVENT: Inching ever closer to Silverstone for the all time weekend attendance. The only thing that spoiled an amazing event was their hometown hero sliding off onto the grass.

TRACK: The changes to get rid of those dastardly chicanes were great. But, the new gravel traps were not. They caused the F3 sprint race to end under the Safety Car despite the incident being cleared away. Because there was so much gravel to sweep away, it could not be done in time. That was just one example of the poorly located gravel traps.

QUALIFYING: The Aussie home crowd were rooting for McLaren but the "wrong" driver got pole, Verstappen still does Verstappen things, Russell says who needs Hamilton on Mercedes, Albon reminds everyone he's pretty good also, Tsunoda makes a statement to the parent Red Bull team, Sauber are the biggest plus surprise, and Haas are the biggest negative surprise.

RACE: It was a crapshoot. Thanks to the weather. Those are fun sometimes, but it didn't really give a proper impression on the layout of the competition (behind McLaren).

START: Slow start off the line with the wet track, Norris is picture perfect, Verstappen waits one turn before pouncing on Piastri, and Doohan becomes the second rookie victim.

NORRIS: More proof Lando has learned his lessons on how to deal with pressure (with a little bit of luck). He is now, from the get go, the pursuee.

PIASTRI: Oh, Oscar. So close to making Australian racing history. But that pass on Hamilton ... one for the ages.

MCLAREN: If, and that's still a big if, the flexi wing saga will indeed have a major impact on them, they need to continue grabbing all the points they can right now.

VERSTAPPEN: Sure, the changing weather allowed Max to stay close for a (long) shot at victory. But, he was still the third fastest driver out there. In a car he had no right to be third fastest driver.

LAWSON: Picked up where Sergio Perez left off...

PEREZ: ...as Mexican fans everywhere are screaming, "We told you so!"

RED BULL: They (still) have their work cut out for them.

RUSSELL: Keeps putting in solid performances.

ANTONELLI: We don't want to be spoilsports. Yes, Kimi did a great job (though he did spin, just got lucky to keep it off the wall). But most of his finishing success was due to safety cars, lucky circumstances with the weather, and other teams tripping over themselves with strategy.

ALBON: Alex won't be intimidated by his new teammate. If anything, he'll give him a run for his money.

SAINZ: New car ignorance on how the safety car engine mapping behaves when upshifting. He'll learn. But, Carlos was a great guest strategist for the team.

WILLIAMS: They are indeed for real this year as a best of the rest contender, despite it "just" being Albert Park.

HULKENBERG: Nico always seems to make a team better.

BORTOLETO: As Gabriel looks like he has the speed as well.

SAUBER: It took them till the penultimate race last year to score points. They are not content to just wait to become Audi.

FERRARI: Back to messing up strategy.

TSUNODA: How many times will his team screw over Yuki with bizarre strategy calls near the end of a race when he was due for a solid finish?

BEARMAN: Had Oliver not made impressive substitution drives last year, we would be thinking he is yet another cursed, failed Haas rookie selection. He did redeem himself with a clean race; the only rookie who didn't spin.

HAAS: They are slow. All weekend. All conditions.

ALONSO: Sure, four of the six rookies crashed (with five at least spinning), two before the first lap was completed, in difficult conditions. But let's not forget one of the most talented drivers also snapped around in the wet and clobbered the wall.

HADJAR: The most inauspicious start to an F1 career in history. And it doesn't even go down as a start.

FIA: Mucking up the off season like no other sports organization can do (well except maybe FIFA).

F2: The feature race was the definition of a washout as not a single green flag race was run. For the sprint race, Paraguayan Joshua Düerksen, grabbed the lead at the start and ran away with it.

F3: Brazilian Rafael Câmara dominated the feature race, which was halted two laps early, in the wet. The sprint race, which saw the debut of these new chassis, was won by Mexican Santiago Ramos.

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Ducks.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: Max Verstappen's record-breaking lead of the drivers' championship dates back to May 2022, but has now come to an end.

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: The last time a season opener started in the rain was also in Australia in 2003. Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) took pole and led a lot of the race, but eventual damage resulted in an earlier than planned pit stop, messing up his strategy. Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams) led late, but spun, settling for second. David Coulthard (McLaren), who qualified 11th, took the win. His last of his career. His teammate, Kimi Räikkönen, who started 15th, took third. It ended Ferrari's 53 consecutive podium finishes streak.

TWEET OF THE WEEKEND: @ange_lalla finding the bright spot:

Hamilton not entering in the Mercedes box at pit stop is the best result so far.
#AustralianGP #AusGP #F1 #Formula1

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Max Verstappen, in the cooldown room, pointing out Lando Norris' mistake, "Yes, it was big. It was big."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Gabriel Bortoleto reacting to Red Bull's Helmut Marko calling him a "B" driver, "Hearing that from Helmut, he's a guy who has put a lot of talent in Formula 1 and has put a lot of wrong talents in F1."

SCHEDULE: No rest right out of the gate with five races in six weekends. Off to China, but this time with no local driver.

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