It’s been a very long time since three Antipodeans have been racing against each other in Formula 1.
McLaren star Oscar Piastri could be racing at the front of the grid against new Red Bull Racing star Liam Lawson.
Although Lawson is from New Zealand, the Australian Grand Prix is the closest event he has on the calendar to a home race.
Piastri and Lawson are also joined by Alpine driver Jack Doohan, who made his unexpected debut for the Anglo-French team at last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Doohan had a difficult race in Abu Dhabi but has now had the winter break to prepare for the start of his first full Formula 1 season.
After the upcoming F1 75 event in London, all 20 drivers will descend on Bahrain for three days of pre-season testing where they’ll each get to grips with their team’s new cars.
The 2025 season is the final year of the current regulations and while that means every team should have a strong understanding of the ruleset, some manufacturers are already leaning towards working on their 2026 cars.
This is likely to have a big impact on the perception of how each driver performs, but Piastri, Doohan and Lawson will all be desperate to impress during the season opener in Melbourne.
Australia hasn’t hosted the first race of the season since 2019, but due to when Ramadan falls, Bahrain have handed that honour back to Albert Park.
Piastri was speaking on The Fast and The Curious Podcast and has explained why he wouldn’t have wanted his first season in F1 to have started in his home country, a warning that Doohan will need to heed.
Oscar Piastri explains why he didn’t want his F1 career to start at the Australian Grand Prix
Piastri was asked about how he feels that the first race of the season will be in Australia and replied: “Yeah, it’s nice being back as the first race.
“As a kid growing up, it was always the first race for me, so it’s nice that it’s going back to the season opener.
READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend
“I’m kind of glad that it wasn’t the season opener in my first season because my first F1 race, my first home race, that could have been a little overwhelming and intense.
“But no, I’m excited to go back as the first race. And I mean Melbourne’s going to be an amazing event no matter where you put it, so I’m excited.
“But to have it as the opener and that sense of anticipation, yeah, that’s going to be really special.”
Jack Doohan will need his home support as he fights for his Alpine future
Doohan will be wise to listen to Piastri’s concerns, but the 22-year-old is already under enough pressure at Alpine.
Although nothing was expected of him when he made his debut in Abu Dhabi, he arrived with a position in the constructors’ championship on the line, and while he couldn’t contribute, teammate Pierre Gasly showed that the car was capable of scoring points.
Doohan then discovered that Alpine had signed Ryo Hirakawa, Paul Aron and most importantly, Franco Colapinto over the winter break as the team’s reserve and development drivers.
READ MORE: Who is Alpine F1 driver Jack Doohan? All to know from his girlfriend to dad
Colapinto impressed at Williams last season but a full-time seat was never available to the young Argentine.
Doohan’s contract runs for just a few races, and if he doesn’t get close to the same level as Gasly, he could easily be replaced.
He will need the full support of the Melbourne crowd to get him through that first race, and if he impresses that immediately relieves a lot of the pressure on him.
Unfortunately, that’s the nature of Formula 1, but Doohan has to turn the expectation of the home fans into a motivational tool to avoid being the first driver to lose his seat in 2025.
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