Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Melbourne

"The new Formula 1 season is only just getting under way and already the sport's uncanny ability to generate controversy is in full swing. There's a team - Sauber - that has three drivers for two cars after a quite incredible court battle. There's another team - McLaren - whose lead driver is not even here after suffering concussion and whose replacement has done less than 40 laps in the car he will race this weekend. There is a continuing row over rules and, by extension, money in the sport.

"Already it is clear this is not going to be a quiet weekend."

Image source, Getty Images

An engine has yet to be fired up in anger and we have already had plenty of Formula 1 drama this week with some bizarre shenanigans at Sauber.

It revolves around Giedo van der Garde, a former test driver for the team, who says he was promised a race seat for this season, a claim backed by the Victoria Supreme Court this week.

That has led to huge uncertainty about just who is going to drive for Sauber in Australia. Will it be their current drivers - Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr - or will one of them have to make way for Van der Garde?

How would they even decide who drops out for Van der Garde? Draw straws? Eeny meeny miny moe?

Farcical.

Not long until the first race weekend of the 2015 season officially gets under way, so let's have your thoughts on the season ahead. How do you see this year's title battle shaping up? Who will surprise us? Can Sebastian Vettel revitalise Ferrari? Who will be the best-performing rookie?

Send in your thoughts on anything and everything F1 related via Twitter to #bbcf1, external, text in on 81111 (UK only) or have your say on the BBC Sport Facebook and Google+ pages.

So here's how today will shape up. First practice starts at 01:30 GMT, with audio commentary online by clicking on the 'Live Coverage' tab at the top of this page. That runs until 03:00 GMT before second practice gets under way at 05:30 GMT.

For those you based in the UK and powering through the night with us, I tip my cap to you.

Patrick Melia: Morning guys! Great to see F1 back :D

Image source, Getty Images

Williams looked closest to Mercedes in terms of pace during testing. Valtteri Bottas' best time of 1:23.063 was just 0.041s off Lewis Hamilton's benchmark, although Bottas' time was set on the supersoft tyres, with Hamilton and Rosberg clocking their best efforts on softs.

Nevertheless, they look likely to be at the forefront of 'the best of the rest' but Ferrari will also be quietly confident of impressing after a showing plenty of progress throughout testing.

They caught the eye by topping the timesheets early in testing before Mercedes' showed their hand, but still gave enough of an indication that they should be up there with Williams this season.

"We leave the winter testing pretty happy with the way the car is performing, the way the test has been done and the way the team is operating," said Ferrari technical director James Allison.

Image source, Getty Images

In stark contrast to Mercedes' smooth sailing in testing, McLaren endured not so much choppy waters, but a veritable tidal wave of problems.

Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button managed a total of just 380 laps, or 1,751km, across the 12 days of testing, and only twice did the team complete more than 58 laps - the race distance of the Australian Grand Prix - in a single session.

Add to that Alonso's crash on the final day of the second test, which left him concussed and ruled out of this weekend's race, and it has been far from an ideal start to 2015.

It is fair to say expectations are very much in check for the opening rounds of the season, with McLaren racing director Eric Boullier not expecting the team to be competitive until first European race in May.

Image source, Mercedes

Mercedes:, external Welcome back to the Australian Grand Prix folks! Under 30mins and we're back on track... let's do this!!

Image source, Getty Images

Surprise, surprise, Mercedes were dominant throughout winter testing.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg racked up 1340 laps, or 6,121km, between them across the 12 days and three tests with the W06 looking quick and reliable.

Indeed, Nico Rosberg clocked the fastest time of all three tests, with his time of 1:22.792 at the Circuit de Catalunya ominously almost three seconds faster than the 2014 Spanish Grand Prix pole time of 1:25.232, set on the same circuit.

Last season showed us they are not without their reliability problems, but once again they look the team to beat, and by some distance.

Ahhh the sweet, sweet sound of engines will soon be filling the Melbourne air, and the first practice session of 2015 is almost upon us.

Before we crack on with the here and now, and believe me there is plenty to talk about regarding events in Australia this week, here is a quick recap of what we learned in testing.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Melbourne

"The phoney war is about to end. All winter, pretty much every team and every driver has been talking about how 'positive' they are for the new season, but this is the moment of truth. Are Mercedes as far as ahead as everyone thinks?

"Have Ferrari really started a revival, as Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen have been suggesting this winter? Can Lotus recover some credibility with a car Romain Grosjean was saying on Thursday is night and day different from last year's monstrosity? Just how much trouble are McLaren-Honda in?

"Answers to all these questions and more are about to be revealed."

Image source, Getty Images

Hello and, depending on where you are following from, good morning, good evening and good night!

Our body clocks may be all over the shop, but who cares because this, for us F1 fans, is Christmas Day - the start of a new season.

Who is going to be dominant? Who will surprise us? Who will disappoint us? We won't know the answers to all those questions by the end of this weekend, but we sure as heck will be treated to a teeny, weeny glimpse of the lay of land.

Excited? You better be...

Dum. Der der der de de de der der dum.

Image source, Getty Images

Three months and 19 days on from the moment Lewis Hamilton stretched the Union Flag out behind him and celebrated becoming a double world champion, Formula 1 is back.

For some, it could not return soon enough...

Image source, Getty Images

...for others, it has come too soon...

Image source, Getty Images

...but regardless of whether the teams are ready, for the rest of us it is almost time to get out the air guitar and prepare for those spine tingling famous chords of The Chain.

Welcome, to the start of the 2015 Formula 1 season.