The 2025 Formula 1 season roared to life with an action-packed Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne’s Albert Park Circuit, marking the first race of the year. Taking place from March 14 to 16, the weekend featured dramatic moments across the free practice sessions (FP1, FP2, FP3), Qualifying, and the Grand Prix itself. In the end, McLaren’s Lando Norris clinched victory, holding off defending world champion Max Verstappen, while his teammate, Australian driver Oscar Piastri, finished second in Qualifying and 9th in the Grand Prix after an unfortunate encounter with the circuit’s patch of grass.
The event also marked the F1 debuts of rookies like Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman, with Hadjar’s weekend cut short due to a crash during the formation lap and Bearman crashing his car twice during free practices.
With Formula 1 commanding global attention, we turned to Trisolute News Dashboard data to analyze how the event unfolded in Australian mobile search visibility from Friday, March 14, to Sunday, March 16. This time frame was chosen to cover the full weekend, including media coverage of the three practice sessions, qualifying, and the Grand Prix itself. The analysis includes rankings across multiple ranking types (News Boxes (Headline, Text, Carousel), Video Boxes, Publisher and Other Carousels, Web Stories, Featured Snippets, Visual Digests, Organic Rankings).

To break down the event’s digital presence, we first identified the most-ranked Formula 1-related keywords in Google News and Google Trends during the race weekend. From there, we examined the most visible publishers and platforms, analyzing how their visibility evolved throughout the weekend—with a particular focus on peaks around key sessions like Free Practices, Qualifying, and the Grand Prix.

With the engines cooled and the checkered flag waved, let’s dive into the data to see how the Australian Grand Prix 2025 played out in search visibility!

Top keywords during the race weekend

This list contains the keywords that generated the most mobile rankings in Australia from March 14 to 16 and fit Australian GP in terms of content. The keywords are sorted in descending order according to their number of rankings. The ranking values, which are mentioned below the keyword box for some of the keywords, represent the individual rankings in 15-minute intervals for as long as the keyword was active in Google News or Google Trends.

Interesting patterns

The Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne sparked massive search interest in Australian News Boxes, with 73,266 total rankings recorded across 43 keywords. Several key patterns can be found when analyzing these keywords, reflecting engagement with live updates, driver performances, and race results.

• The abbreviation “F1” dominated searches, appearing in 13 keywords that collectively generated 35,847 rankings. In comparison, “Formula 1” appeared in only two keywords and amassed 4,964 rankings, indicating a clear reference for the shorter term. At 11,807 rankings, the keyword “f1” is also the most ranked keyword overall.
• Melbourne played a central role in coverage, appearing in four keywords with 16,324 rankings. In contrast, “Australia” or “Australian” appeared in seven keywords but totaled only 6,562 rankings, suggesting that local coverage was more focused on the host city than the country itself.
• Australian driver Oscar Piastri was the most visible name of the weekend. His full name was the second most-ranked keyword overall (“oscar piastri”, 11,543 rankings), and his name appeared in five keywords totaling 16,457 rankings. The other four keywords referenced him only by surname, showing that while Piastri dominated coverage, his full name was far more frequently surfaced in rankings than just his last name.
• Beyond Piastri, race winner Lando Norris made a strong impression following his qualifying and race victory. He appeared in six keywords that accumulated 3,637 rankings, with the single-name keyword “norris” (1,022 rankings) slightly outperforming “lando norris” (964 rankings).
• Lewis Hamilton, in his first season with Ferrari, was present in only one keyword (“lewis hamilton”) with 1,754 rankings—less than both Piastri and Norris but still among the most-ranked driver names. Other driver names mentioned in the list include Australian rookie Jack Doohan (two keywords, 1,396 rankings), Isack Hadjar, who crashed out in the formation lap (one keyword, 460 rankings), and Max Verstappen, the reigning world champion and race runner-up, appearing in just one keyword (“verstappen f1”, 24 rankings).
• In total, 15 keywords referenced drivers’ names, accumulating 22,810 rankings. Notably, the keyword “oscar piastri” alone accounted for more than half of that total, reinforcing his prominence in the race weekend’s discussion.
• While individual drivers dominated the rankings, teams and constructors also played a role in visibility. McLaren (949 rankings) and Ferrari (662 rankings) emerged as the most ranked teams, reflecting their strong presence over the weekend. Aston Martin appeared in the keyword “aston martin adrian newey” (420 rankings), likely due to the high-profile move of Adrian Newey, who is in his first season with the team after leaving Red Bull, where he had been since 2006.
• Beyond the drivers and teams, specific race weekend moments were also widely reflected in the rankings. The qualifying session, where Norris secured pole position, appeared in multiple keywords, adding up to 4,455 rankings. Practice sessions were another key area of interest, with six keywords referencing “practice'”or “FP” totaling 1,301 rankings. The race itself, covered through variations like “Grand Prix”, “GP”, and “race”, collectively generated 6,131 rankings.
• There was a strong demand for real-time updates and scheduling information. Keywords like “f1 melbourne schedule” (5,061 rankings), “f1 schedule” (2,551 rankings), and “f1 qualifying time” (840 rankings) suggest fans were keen on tracking session timings. Meanwhile, queries like “what time does f1 start today” (507 rankings) and “f1 live” (129 rankings) indicate ongoing searches for immediate event coverage.

Based on the list of 43 keywords that generated rankings during the F1 weekend, let’s now have a look at which publishers and platforms made it into the Australian News Boxes.

Top publishers and platforms on the Australian Grand Prix 2025

Top 5 publishers and platforms on the 2025 Australian Grand Prix.

When looking at the five most visible outlets on the Australian GP, F1’s official website (formula1.com) emerges as the clear winner, likely due to its authoritative status and direct access to real-time race updates, schedules, and official coverage. As the primary source for F1-related information, it benefits from high credibility, frequent content updates, and strong user engagement, making it a dominant presence in search results. Following Formula 1’s official website, video and social media platforms played a major role in visibility, with YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram ranking next. This highlights the importance of real-time video content, live race updates, and social media discussions in audience engagement. These platforms allow for instant reactions, race highlights, driver interviews, and interactive content, making them key sources for F1 fans seeking immediate insights beyond traditional news reporting.

It’s only in fifth place that the first news publisher appears—Foxsports.com.au, indicating that while official sources and social media dominate overall visibility, traditional media still plays a role in in-depth analysis and editorial coverage.

Because of this, the following News Dashboard screenshot expands the ranking view to the top 10, specifically focusing on news publishers to provide a clearer picture of which media outlets were most visible in covering the race weekend.

Top publishers (only) on the 2025 Australian Grand Prix

The most visible publishers in descending order were:

1. Fox Sports (foxsports.com.au)
   Fox Sports emerged as the most visible news publisher covering the Australian Grand Prix 2025, with its visibility peaking multiple times throughout the race weekend. The site saw early spikes before FP1 and FP2 on March 14, followed by a strong evening peak at 11 p.m. The highest visibility occurred during and after qualifying on March 15, particularly between 4 p.m. and 11 p.m. Although visibility dropped slightly after that, it rebounded following the Grand Prix, peaking again at 10 p.m. on race day, March 16.
   The most-ranked keyword for Fox Sports was “f1 melbourne schedule” (429 rankings), reinforcing its focus on pre-race coverage and event planning. The top article, “F1 Australian Grand Prix 2025 qualifying | Starting grid, Oscar Piastri 2nd, Lando Norris pole position, highlights, results, video, latest news“, capitalized on the key moments from qualifying that shaped the weekend’s headlines.
2. Nine (nine.com.au)
   Nine secured strong visibility across the weekend, particularly in the lead-up to key sessions and during race-day events. An initial peak occurred on Friday morning (March 14, 7 a.m.), followed by smaller increases ahead of FP1 and FP2 later that day. The publisher’s most significant surge in visibility happened after qualifying (March 15, 8 p.m.), indicating heightened interest in Norris’ and Piastri’s performances. Nine also saw a major peak during the Grand Prix itself (March 16, 3 p.m.), likely driven by real-time race updates and post-race analysis.
   The most-ranked keyword for Nine was “oscar piastri” (309 rankings), aligning with the widespread interest in the Australian driver’s performance at his home Grand Prix. The publisher’s top article, “Australian Grand Prix RECAP: Lando Norris holds off reigning champ in ‘tough’ win after Oscar Piastri spins off“, reflects its focus on race results and key battles on track.
3. ABC (abc.net.au)
   ABC’s visibility closely followed the structure of the race weekend, with peaks at key moments such as before FP1 (March 14, 11 a.m.), during qualifying (March 15, 4 p.m.), and on the morning of race day (March 16, 9 a.m.). A final spike occurred at 6 p.m. on March 16, likely reflecting post-race coverage and analysis.
   ABC’s coverage was centered around Australia’s top drivers and team performances, with “oscar piastri” as its most ranked keyword (448 rankings). Its top article, “F1 Australian Grand Prix: McLaren qualifies on pole while Red Bull and Mercedes suffer early exits“, highlights the contrast between McLaren’s success and the struggles of dominant teams like Red Bull and Mercedes during Qualifying.
4. Speedcafe (speedcafe.com)
   Speedcafe’s visibility pattern shows a strong presence before and after major sessions, with peaks following FP1 and FP2 (March 14, 11 p.m.) and an early morning surge on March 15, just before FP3 and qualifying (6 a.m.). Post-race, the site’s visibility increased again, with two peaks at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. on March 16, as fans looked for final race results and expert analysis.
   The publisher’s focus on event coverage and session updates is reflected in its most-ranked keyword, “f1 melbourne” (313 rankings). The top article, “F1 news: Australian GP: Qualifying Results“, suggests a primary emphasis on session breakdowns and technical insights rather than driver storylines from this publisher.
5. Racing News 365 (racingnews365.com)
   Racing News 365 built visibility around real-time updates and reactions to key moments of the race weekend. A major peak followed FP2 on March 14 at 5 p.m., leading into another visibility spike after qualifying on March 15 at 6 p.m. On race day, Racing News 365 saw strong traction at 3 p.m. (when the Grand Prix started) and again at 8 p.m., reflecting audience interest in both live race coverage and post-race analysis.
   The publisher’s most-ranked keyword was “f1 melbourne schedule” (488 rankings), indicating a focus on event logistics and timing updates. Its top article, “LIVE: Reaction as Norris roars to Australia pole to deny Piastri“, highlights an emphasis on instant reactions to key performances.
6. The Guardian (theguardian.com)
   The Guardian had a distinct visibility pattern compared to other publishers, with peaks after qualifying (March 15, 7 p.m.), during the night before race day (March 16, 2 a.m.), and after the Grand Prix (March 16, 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.). This suggests a focus on in-depth analysis and next-day reporting rather than live session updates.
   Its most-ranked keyword was “f1” (279 rankings), indicating broad coverage rather than a specific focus on particular drivers or teams. The most visible article, “Formula One: Australian Grand Prix qualifying – as it happened“, shows an approach of providing comprehensive, timeline-based recaps rather than quick, breaking news updates.

Key takeaways from the Australian Grand Prix’s online coverage

If you’re interested in more F1-specific news SEO content, check out one of these analyses:

• An in-depth analysis of how UK publishers captured visibility around the final race of the 2024 F1 season at the Abu Dhabi GP
• A mini-analysis on the F1 75 launch event on February 18 for UK publishers (LinkedIn)
• The Australian GP 2025 for UK publishers (LinkedIn)

Too much F1? How about some other sports then?

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