VIEW FROM THE COUCH

The weather was nasty in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix, which was tough for the drivers but just fine for anyone parked in front of the television.

Even the crowd suffered from the cold and miserable conditions, with 'only' an estimated 131,547 people heading to Albert Park. Even so, the four-day attendance was the best yet for the AGP with a claimed total of 465,498.

But still no Aussie winner.

It was the only thing missing from an epic race with plenty of action, a renewal of the battle between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, disasters for the rookies – apart from Kimi Antonelli – and some massive prangs.

Here are a few take-outs from AGP 2025:

Doohan it tough: An early exit was definitely not what Jack Doohan wanted or needed, but he was one in the raft of rookies who found the wall. Alpine's new signing starred through qualifying and only a yellow flag for a Lewis Hamilton spin stopped him from making the Top 10 shootout.

Doohan has learned from his dad Mick about strength and resilience, so his comment after the race was exactly what was expected from someone with his eyes on the prize: "It is a tough way to learn but I have digested what happened and put it behind me to focus on what is ahead. The positive learnings from the weekend outweigh the outcome from today."

Hamilton shows humanity. When Isack Hadjar spun even before the start, he looked inconsolable as he cried inside his helmet. As he got to the F1 Paddock he was still wearing his helmet and slumping back to report to the Racing Bulls crew.

The first to put their arm around him was Anthony Hamilton, father of Lewis, who had been watching the race build-up in the Ferrari garage. He has had plenty of experience of good and bad times in Formula One, and he had some private words for the highly-rated Hadjar who had done a great job through qualifying.

"He told me to keep my head high. That I did a good job yesterday. A nice gesture," said Hadjar. Too true.

Game on at McLaren. Oscar Piastri was brilliant at home and was hugely unlucky to lose so much time on the soaking grass after an error that was almost identical to Lando Norris. The big take-out from the AGP is that the McLaren men are almost impossible to split on speed and commitment, which means this season could be as entertaining and intriguing as the days when Ayrton Senna fought Alain Prost at the team.

Piastri was clearly gutted after the race, but two points for ninth place after an impressive recovery job could be crucial at the end of the season. And he was honest and open about the mistake.

“I’ve felt better. I’m just disappointed. I honestly don’t know what to say, really. Obviously, a mistake from myself but I think for it to have the consequences that it did were a little bit unfortunate.

“I’ve only got myself to blame. I tried to push too much in those conditions. I’m obviously very disappointed, but I think there are a lot of positives to take.”

Ten claims the commentary crown. Flicking back-and-forwards for two days highlighted the excellence of the locally-focussed television commentary by Network Ten. Their crew – Richard Craill as anchor, with former champion Damon Hill and podcast and interview expert Tom Clarkson – was sharp and insightful.

Yes, there was some cringeworthy cross-promotional stuff between track time, but they also had Guenther Steiner on the crew and bagged some excellent interviews with questions which were not just the usual F1 puff stuff.

Best of all, the Ten team knew that – unlike the Sky crew on the Foxtel feed – they are not the story. Viewers got the benefit, as they did from Craill's excellent play-by-play work and his generosity in sharing the microphone.