One of the most anticipated seasons of Formula One ever gets underway at the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne this weekend.

The four-day motorsport event began yesterday, and all 20 drivers will fight for first place in the Grand Prix on Sunday.

Trackside fencing, grandstands and overpasses for pedestrians were all erected, along the 5.303km track for yesterday’s commencement.

Last year’s Australian Grand Prix drew in a record crowd of over 450,000 fans across all four days of the event. With an increased capacity at Albert Park this year, crowds of fans are predicted to break the attendance record.

The start of the 2025 season coincides with the seventh season of popular Netflix docuseries, Drive to Survive released last week, which has generated further anticipation of the upcoming racing season.

The move of Lewis Hamilton to join Charles Leclerc at Ferrari has been the main talking point heading into the weekend.

Commentator and former Formula 1 racing driver, Karun Chandhok, said: “The story of Lewis going to Ferrari and trying to secure his eighth World Championship with the most famous team in the sport is something that everyone is very excited about.

“I think this will be a bigger year for the Melbourne GP to be honest. You now have Oscar (Piastri) coming back home as a two time race winner and genuinely as one of the favourites to win this weekend which will be great for the home fans. Having Jack Doohan on the grid is also good news.

“But of course on a more global level, the story of Lewis going to Ferrari and trying to secure his eighth World Championship with the most famous team in the sport is something that everyone is very excited about!”

This season introduces a new generation of six young racing rookies who will be joining 14 of the world’s best racing drivers on the grid (all of whom weren’t even born when Fernando Alonso had his F1 debut in 2001).

Kiwi driver, Liam Lawson, 23, has replaced Sergio Perez and will be racing alongside four-time champion Max Verstappen at Red Bull. In 2023, Lawson drove in five races as Daniel Ricciardo’s substitute after he broke his wrist. This put him on the radar as he then replaced Ricciardo at Racing Bulls for the last six races of the 2024 season, before he secured his Red Bull seat for 2025.

Kimi Antonelli, 18, from Italy will race alongside George Russell at Mercedes, while Alpine will see 22-year-old Aussie driver Doohan teaming up with Pierre Gasly after replacing Estaban Ocon. Doohan debuted in F1 last year in Abu Dhabi which was the last race of 2024.

All the rookies will be fascinating to watch once the season starts and the pressure of racing kicks in.

Channel Ten commentator Natalie Hunter said: “Something to look forward to is having another Aussie on the grid with Jack Doohan joining Oscar Piastri for a home race.

“Having hundreds of thousands of people from around the globe watching the best drivers in the world battle it out at 300kmh! The atmosphere will be unreal made even better by having a couple of homegrown Aussies on the grid.”

She added: “I think there’s a few things to look forward to this year with moves from multiple drivers but none bigger than Lewis Hamilton. The change from Mercedes who he’d been with since 2013 will be amazing to watch and very interesting to see how both Mercedes and Ferrari go up against each other. 

“The battle between Norris and Verstappen will be an interesting one again this season. I think all the rookies will be fascinating to watch once the season starts and the pressure of racing kicks in but I think Andrea Kimi Antonelli will keep us on the edge of our seats in Lewis Hamiltons old spot at Mercedes.”

Ocon will replace Kevin Magnussen at Haas and is joined by 19-year-old British driver Oliver Bearman. Bearman replaces Nico Hulkenberg as he moves to Sauber.

Bearman notably raced in the 2024 season as a reserve driver for Ferrari when Carlos Sainz had appendicitis. He also raced for Magnussen as he served a race ban. The seven points Bearman scored helped him secure his seat on the 2025 grid.

Sauber welcomes Hulkenberg and introduces 20-year-old Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto, farewelling Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.

French 20-year-old Isack Hadjar replaces Australian national treasure Ricciardo to race alongside Yuki Tsunoda at Racing Bulls.

F1 veteran, Alonso will continue racing with Lance Stroll at Aston Martin.

Alex Albon also continues at Williams and is joined by the smooth operator, Sainz who replaces Logan Sargeant.

McLaren’s Lando Norris and Piastri secured the 2024 Constructors’ Championship win with 666 points and will continue racing together this year.

Chandhok also said: “Oscar coming home as a two-time race winner and genuinely as one of the favourites to win this weekend will be great for home fans.”

Last year’s season saw a continuation of the reign of Red Bull’s Verstappen, with his fourth consecutive win of the Drivers’ Championship with 437 points.

The question on fans’ minds now is will Verstappen remain in the same form or can Lewis Hamilton secure a World Championship and pass legendary racer Michael Schumacher’s record?

Main image of Lewis Hamilton driving for Mercedes courtesy of Wikimedia.