The Starting Grid: Australian Grand Prix

After a dominant 2014 from Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, all eyes were on Melbourne for the season opener back in March. Could the Brackley team continue with their unbeatable form? Or could another team step in and take the crown from the Silver Arrows? Questions needed answers and the Australian Grand Prix was able to provide some.

From FP1 and FP2 it was clear Mercedes were going to be setting the pace for the rest of the pack to catch up to, with Williams and Ferrari the nearest competitors to the 2014 Constructors Champions. Toro Rosso outshone their sister team Red Bull Racing in FP1 with local lad Daniel Riccardo not making it out in FP2 due to issues with the car. McLaren Honda didn't get their new partnership off to the best of starts with limited running in both Friday practice sessions.

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes dominated FP3 and was almost a second quicker than the nearest rival Sebastian Vettel. Both Red Bulls and Mclaren's struggled for pace and finished the session at the bottom of the time sheet. Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean managed to get their Lotus' in 7th and 8th position, with the Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz and Sauber driver Felipe Nasr rounding off the Top 10.

Qualifying for the opening round of the 2015 Formula 1 season saw dry conditions for the teams. Due to both Manor Marussia's not being able to get out for running all weekend, it meant only three drivers' were eliminated in Q1. Both Mclaren's were knocked out with Sauber driver Marcus Ericsson keeping Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen company at the back of the grid.
Both Force India's were eliminated in Q2 lining up 14th and 15th on the grid. Daniel Kvyat would start his debut race for Red Bull Racing in 13th behind the Toro Rosso of Max Verstappen. Felipe Nasr just missed out on Q3 and his Sauber lined up in 11th for the Australian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes pace was again strong and no one could get within a second of them. The battle was between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg with the World Champion coming out on top. Felipe Massa made it into the Top 3 behind Nico Rosberg, followed by the two Ferrari's with Sebastian Vettel out qualifying Kimi Raikkonen.
Bottas was three tenths slower than his Williams team mate and started the race in 6th position. The fourth row of the grid was made up of Daniel Riccardo and Carlos Sainz with both Lotus' completing the Top 10, Romain Grosjean getting the edge over Maldonado.

Winner Lewis Hamilton giving the crowd an expensive shower

Race day saw just 15 cars start. Valtteri Bottas pulled out due to a back injury he sustained in Qualifying and both Daniel Kvyat and Kevin Magnussen not making the grid because of a technical issue on the Red Bull and an engine issue on the McLaren Honda.
With a first lap incident for Maldonado and a failure for Grosjean both Lotus' didn't make it to the end of the race.
Lewis Hamilton went on to win the race with Nico Rosberg making it a 1-2 for reigning Constructor's Champions. Sebastian Vettel scored his first podium with his new Ferrari team finishing third. Williams had a strong race with their only driver for the day Felipe Massa just missing out on a final podium finish. Fellow Brazilian driver Felipe Nasr finished 5th and scoring his first ever points in Formula 1.
Daniel Ricciardo finished his home race in 6th followed closely by Nico Hulkenberg in the Sahara Force India. Marcus Ericsson turned his Q1 exit in qualifying around scoring his first points on his debut with Sauber. Carlos Sainz also grabbed points in his first Grand Prix and Sergio Perez rounded off the points scorers at the Australian Grand Prix.

With Mercedes standing their ground as reigning World Champions, it's clear they're following in their 2014 footsteps and setting the pace for the rest of the grid. But can they hold their nerve and keep at bay the closing competitors?