Verstappen: “It was a difficult race of course, but it was good fun. Lando had a moment at Turn 6 and I got the DRS. If we’d boxed one lap earlier we would have been P2 anyway, it was worth the gamble, a bit spicy out there with the slick tyres.”

Russell: “It was a great race to come home in P3, and I want to say a massive ‘well done’ to Lando. Also well done to Kimi to come back in P5! It was good fun, I was hoping the two guys in front would make a mistake so I could slip through…”

“Little bit of pressure!” Norris says. The timing of that rain, and the immediate decision to pit for inters after going off, was surely crucial.

Stroll finishes sixth, ahead of Hulkenberg, Leclerc, Piastri, and Hamilton.

Russell clinches the final place on the podium, as Antonelli – who passed Albon – received a five-second penalty for an unsafe release and is relegated to fifth.

Norris weathers the storm to win the Australian Grand Prix! Verstappen is second, just 0.8s behind!

Final lap: Norris is just hanging on – he holds Verstappen off through the first two DRS zones…

Lap 56: Norris is under threat here – Verstappen has DRS, after cutting the McLaren driver’s lead on the restart. Norris gets the hurry-up.

Lap 55: Piastri slips past Gasly for 10th at Turn 3. That slip at Turn 2 really slashed the Alpine driver’s momentum.

Hamilton also clears Gasly, who is now under threat from Piastri who’s hoping to recover a point.

Lap 54: Gasly goes wide at Turn 2, which lets Leclerc mount a pass into the next corner.

Lap 53: Piastri has now cleared both Ocon and Tsunoda, and he’s up to 11th. Hamilton is next up.

Leclerc went around the outside of Hamilton at Turn 1 to get ninth. Piastri, after falling down the order, appeared to clear Ocon, but did it before the start-finish straight so had to give 12th back.

Lap 52: We go again! Norris preserves the lead, as Verstappen looks a little sideways through Turn 2. Russell’s angling for a move on the Dutchman – good friends, as they are…

Funnily enough, it’s brightened up a bit after that deluge. Norris gets us underway again.

Lap 51: Safety car in this lap. We’ll have six laps to go on the restart.

Lap 50: It looks like we’re about to get going again soon, as Bearman is asked to lap the safety car. 

Tsunoda is another person for whom the staying-out gamble didn’t pay off – and he’s out of the points after an otherwise impressive day.

Lap 48: 10 laps to go. Norris, despite all of that, leads – with Verstappen and Russell in the top three. Albon, Antonelli, Stroll, Hulkenberg, Gasly, Hamilton, and Leclerc are the top 10.

Both Ferraris call in for intermediates, and so they’ll slide down to ninth and 10th. 

Lawson’s spun at Turn 2, and Bortoleto’s come into strife at Turn 13. Safety car is out.

Lap 47: It’s chucking it down. Hamilton stays out on slicks, as has Leclerc. Both Lawson and Bortoleto have stopped on track…

The rain has arrived, and Verstappen is finally told to pit. Russell, Albon, Stroll, Antonelli, Hulkenberg, and Bortoleto are on inters too.

Lap 44: Piastri’s off! Both McLarens slide off at Turn 11, and Norris just about recovers and pits for intermediates! Piastri ends up in the grass at Turn 13, and is still recovering.

Bortoleto gets a time penalty for an unsafe release.

Lap 43: Albon is right on Tsunoda’s tail, and Antonelli is hustling Gasly. Rain looks like it’s about to come shortly…it’s already drizzling in the pitlane.

Leclerc is told that “class 3” rain is on the way for two laps. It’s about to spice up even more.

Lap 42: Norris leads the field away, as Verstappen is on Piastri’s tail.

Lap 41: Safety car in this lap. We’ll get rolling again shortly!

Lap 41: Haas has ditched the intermediate experiment and switched to medium tyres. Bearman’s shuffled back into the pack, and nearly lost the car in front of Verstappen.

Both Haas drivers stayed out on inters to anticipate any further rain on the restart. Lapped cars are given the chance to pass the safety car.

1. Norris, 2. Piastri, 3. Verstappen, 4. Russell, 5. Leclerc, 6. Tsunoda, 7. Albon, 8. Hamilton, 9. Gasly, 10. Antonelli, 11. Stroll, 12. Hulkenberg, 13. Bortoleto, 14. Ocon, 15. Bearman, 16. Lawson.

Lap 38: Alonso’s car is now being cleared by the recovery vehicle, as McLaren continues to discuss the possibility of rain in a few laps’ time.

Lap 37: Piastri is told that a short but intense rain shower on the way – perhaps around lap 45, for one lap. Norris is told “one lap, class 2-3”, and replies “that’s not ideal”. 

Bortoleto looks like he’s in for an unsafe release penalty, as he was released in front of Lawson after his stop.

Alonso’s car is not in an easy place to clear. The Spaniard was coming under pressure from Antonelli, and just dipped a wheel too far over at Turn 6. 

The McLarens take the hard tyres – Verstappen has mediums. Containing the Red Bull driver will be key for the McLaren duo on the restart.

Norris is given the call to pit, and Piastri has dropped back slightly to double stack. Everyone’s stopping.