Max Verstappen benefits from F1 rule change in Lando Norris title fight

Max Verstappen has already been handed the first advantage of the 2025 F1 season, despite losing out to Lando Norris in the Australian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull star came home second behind his McLaren rival after a chaotic race in Melbourne.

F1 HEADLINES: Norris slips up as FIA penalty verdict changes Australian Grand Prix result

READ MORE: FIA announce Lewis Hamilton penalty verdict after Australian Grand Prix incident

It looked all but certain to be a one-two for Norris and his team-mate Oscar Piastri as the pair left Verstappen in their dust with a margin of more than 16 seconds in the middle of the race.

But then the rain came. And so did the chaos. Red Bull benefitted from a safety car to bunch the pack up and a mistake from Piastri saw Verstappen close the gap further.

In the end, it came down to a last lap shootout with the Dutchman breathing down the neck of the McLaren.

Norris kept his cool though to win the first race of the season in what many are expecting to be a triumphant one for McLaren both in the constructors' and drivers' championships.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen and George Russell in tense exchange after Australian Grand Prix

F1 rule change benefits Verstappen

However, Norris might feel slightly aggrieved by a new rule change for this season would have meant he would be walking away with an even bigger lead over Verstappen this time last year.

F1 have scrapped the bonus point for the driver who sets the fastest lap of the race – so long as you finished inside the top 10 – and therefore Norris took home 25 points, rather than the 26 he would have in 2024.

The amount could yet prove insignificant come Abu Dhabi in December when the chequered flag is waved, but Norris and McLaren certainly would not have said no to another point if it were offered to them.

2025 rule change removes fastest lap point

Fastest lap points have been banished for 2025. Since 2019, drivers have picked up an extra point if they finish in the top 10 and achieve the fastest lap.

However, it did lead to some drivers abandoning their races to pit and fit a set of new tyres at the end in order to claim the fastest lap point, or to stop a rival from getting the extra point.

The most famous example of this in 2024 came during Daniel Ricciardo's final F1 race, when the Australian finished last but claimed the fastest lap on the final lap of the Singapore GP, taking the extra point away from Lando Norris and helping Max Verstappen's title bid.

READ MORE: Ferrari investigation launched after Australian Grand Prix disaster

Related

Australian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen and George Russell in tense exchange after Australian Grand Prix

• March 16, 2025 20:57

F1 2025

Lando Norris breaks 1,029 day Max Verstappen streak at Australian Grand Prix

• March 16, 2025 11:57