LAP FIVEpublished at 05:15 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
Lewis Hamilton is fastest in all three sectors and he clocks a 1:32.765 to lead Nico Rosberg by 2.4 seconds.
Summary
Hamilton wins, Rosberg 2nd, Vettel 3rd
Massa 4th, Nasr 5th, Ricciardo 6th, Hulkenberg 7th
Ericsson 8th, Sainz 9th, Perez 10th, Button 11th
Verstappen out, Raikkonen out after botched pit stop
Maldonado crashes out, Grosjean out
Button and Perez make contact during scrap
Magnussen & Kvyat out after stopping on way to grid
Bottas does not race after back injury
LAP FIVEpublished at 05:15 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
Postpublished at 05:14 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
David Coulthard
BBC F1 co-commentator"All the rookies have made impressive debuts in practice and qualifying and keeping it clean so far."
LAP FOURpublished at 05:14 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
Lewis Hamilton looks to take Nico Rosberg by surprise as his foot is straight on the accelerator as the safety car heads in and builds a quick advantage at the front.
Behind Rosberg in second is Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, Felipe Nasr - who is having a storming race so far - and then Daniel Ricciardo.
Postpublished at 05:12 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
Image source, SauberSauber:, external Early pit stop for Marcus changing to the soft tyres.
Postpublished at 05:11 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
Ben Edwards
BBC F1 commentator"We're now down to 13 runners and you have to wonder if we will challenge the fewest number of finishers here. I think we've had eight on two occasions."
Get involved #bbcf1published at 05:11 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
Steve Roberts: All been going on this morning, nice start for Lewis and the McLaren looked rapid off the line.
Richard Greenwood: Manor should have started!!! They pretty much would have been in the points by now!!!
Rian Hoskins: Just when you thought Lotus' luck had changed, both cars are out already. Sauber have a great chance to better 2014 already.
LAP THREEpublished at 05:10 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
The safety car heads in at the end of lap three with Lewis Hamilton leading the remaining 13 cars in the rest of the race.
LAP TWOpublished at 05:09 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
Image source, LotusMarcus Ericsson and Romain Grosjean head into the pits. The Lotus is wheeled into the garage and it looks like Grosjean's race is run already. That's both Lotuses out already.
Postpublished at 05:07 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
Mercedes: Car being lifted away now - fingers crossed it'll only be a short pause...
LAP ONEpublished at 05:06 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
Absolutely crazy as the field drops down to 14 runners with Pasto Maldonado clambering out of his Lotus, which struck the barriers after that spin which came about after a bit of traffic jam at the first corner.
Go! Go! Go!published at 05:05 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
The Australian Grand Prix is go, go go! It is a brilliant start by Lewis Hamilton as he streams away, getting through the first corner safely.
Drama though as Pastor Maldonado spins at the exit of Turn Two and the safety car is out already.
Image source, AFPPostpublished at 05:03 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
Lewis Hamilton lines up in his place on the grid and the rest of the field follow suit. Almost time...
Postpublished at 05:02 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
The 15 cars starting the Australian Grand Prix head out for their formation. Will they all make it round?
Mercedes inform Lewis Hamilton about where the oil spilled from Daniil Kvyat's Toro Rosso is, which is in the region of Turn 3.
Postpublished at 04:59 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
Red Bull:, external Update on Dany Kvyat. He has a suspected gearbox problem, losing all drive and is unable to start the race.
Rosberg's only hope?published at 04:58 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
Nico Rosberg won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last year, with Lewis Hamilton retiring two laps into the race.
How Rosberg will be hoping for history to repeat.
A target for Hamilton?published at 04:58 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
Image source, Getty ImagesDamon Hill has the record for the largest winning margins at Albert Park in a Formula 1 race, winning by 38 seconds in 1996.
Most Melbourne winspublished at 04:58 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
Image source, Getty ImagesFour - Michael Schumacher
Three - Jenson Button
Two - David Coulthard; Kimi Raikkonen
Postpublished at 04:58 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
Image source, MercedesMercedes:, external Glorious sunshine glinting off the equipment as the #F1 W06 beasts receive their final pre-race treatment: five mins...
Postpublished at 04:56 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
This is your FIVE MINUTE warning before the start of the race. Grab a coffee, tea or whatever your drink of choice is and settle in.
It is almost time to go racing!
Postpublished at 04:55 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2015
Allan McNish
BBC Radio 5 live analyst"The first corner is quite bumpy and the grip level is pretty low. It's wide and narrow so everyone sticks it in as they know it is a good opportunity.
"It has had a lot of safety cars. We have a 60 per cent chance of that mainly because of the first corner.
"The young rookies need to just get through the first corner. That's one of the keys."