Image source, Reuters

Bernie Ecclestone watched in horror from his London office as the sport he has masterminded for the past 40 years imploded Down Under - labelling the new qualifying rules as... (insert naughty word here). (The Sun), external

The entire sport had egg on its face after one day of the 2016 season and now the rush is on to come up with something else before the next race in Bahrain. (Mirror), external

F1's revamped qualifying format was labelled "rubbish" by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff yesterday after the new elimination-style system ended in farce in Australia. (Express), external

Formula One will scrap its new-look qualifying system after it proved to be an unredeemed disaster... (Guardian), external

The first race of the season is getting closer! The pitlane is open and the cars are heading off to the grid.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Melbourne

After the rain and chill of Friday and Saturday, the weather is spectacular in Albert Park as the clock ticks down to the start of the 2016 Formula 1 season. There are big, beautiful, blue skies and the temperature is very pleasant in the low-20Cs - although the strong sun makes it feel warmer. It is, as someone said just now, an absolutely beautiful day for motor race.

How's the early start treating you?

Gregory Baser: Drinking tea, eating rich tea biscuits. Best start to my day. Nice guys can win @LewisHamilton

Paul Fiander: No getting up early for the Gran Prix this morning instead just have not been to bed

Muadka: Great to have #F1 back, excitement is an understatement, lets start the party

Image source, _

The winner of the Australian Grand Prix has gone on to the win the world title in 12 of the previous 20 editions of the race.

He's back, he is actually back!

Arnold Schwarzenegger did the podium interviews last year, and the great man is back in the paddock today.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Jolyon Palmer has had an impressive debut weekend in Formula 1. The Englishman was 14th in the Renault - and more importantly ahead of team-mate Kevin Magnussen, who has a year’s experience from racing for McLaren in 2014. Did Palmer expect that? “Not really,” he said, with a smile. “I knew Kevin’s quick and he had a really good race here. But I’ve just been concentrating on myself. Me and Kevin have been quite evenly matched so far so, yeah, the whole weekend through it has been really tight.” 

Palmer was very satisfied to have maximised what he felt was in the car. “I could not have achieved 13th. 14th was possible and I’ve achieved 14th, so that’s as good as it gets for me right now.” Magnussen, meanwhile, said he felt he could have challenged the McLarens had he done only two runs rather than three in Q1. He was also compromised by a Toro Rosso on his Q2 lap. 

Another thing to watch out for today is how the rookies get on. There's three of them - Jolyon Palmer, Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto.

Image source, Getty Images

Nineteen different drivers have won the Australian Grand Prix since its inception in 1985. 

The person with the most wins Michael Schumacher? 

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Melbourne

It will be fascinating to see how Ferrari and Mercedes match up in the race - with both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen saying they felt more confident than the bare statistics would suggest. 

"Obviously they are still very fast, but I don't think you should be too worried,” Raikkonen said. 

Behind the big two, the fight was as close as expected. Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen won it, and there was just 0.155secs between him in fifth and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo in eighth. Verstappen’s team-mate Carlos Sainz might feel a little bit sore, though - his lap in Q2 was quicker than Verstappen’s in Q3 and he he repeated it he would have headed the group, instead of seventh.”

Well isn't this cute!

That's assuming Patrick isn't 30 or something.

Image source, Getty Images

Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen, who is fifth on the grid:

"It was a great achievement by the team, especially after a short winter. It was the best possible result. We have two Mercedes and two Ferraris in front and we can see what they do. A podium would be very nice. You have to be very realistic, they are both stronger but we will try to keep up."

Image source, Getty Images

Most will want to forget it, but Max Verstappen will remember yesterday's qualifying fondly.

Fifth on the grid for today's race is the highest he has qualified in his short F1 career so far and he will make history if he finishes in the top 10 today. The 18-year-old will become the youngest-ever points scorer at the Australian GP.

You can also chat to us like Sophie did a couple of entries ago by tweeting us on #bbcf1 or texting 81111 (UK only)

Are you expecting any surprises in today's race? A few drivers are well positioned for potentially eye-brow raising results - Max Verstappen (5th) and Jolyon Palmer (13) being two that stand out for me.

I did say we would move on from qualifying yesterday, but I thought we do a quick vote to get an idea of your views. 

F1 left it pretty late to introduce the change, and were even quicker to scrap it, so our question is:

Is Formula 1's approach to improving the spectacle farcical or flexible? You have until 04:30 to cast your vote and you can do so on the right side of this page (desktop) or by clicking the vote tab on mobile devices.  

Image source, EPA

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, fourth on the grid, speaks while getting into a tiny Austin Healey Sprite:

"I'm not 100% happy with qualifying. We had difficulties warming up the tyres but overall it was OK. It's not going to be easy to challenge Mercedes but hopefully we will get a good start and can challenge them."

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Melbourne

It has not taken Lewis Hamilton long to dispel any notion that the dip in form he experienced at the end of 2015 was anything more than him taking his foot off the gas once the title was settled. The world champion has been on fire from the start of the weekend here in Albert Park. Fastest in every session so far. On pole by nearly 0.4secs, and 0.8secs faster than the first non-Mercedes. “They were some sexy laps,” said Hamilton. “The car felt good, moved, it was like a beautiful rhythm. Felt like James Brown at the end of the lap.” 

Team-mate Nico Rosberg said he had not had the same feeling - but he did admit he had been surprised by Hamilton’s performance. “He just had a great day and my day wasn’t great and that’s how you explain that,” Rosberg said. “It’s having the feel for the car. being able to push all the way through. I was not 100% comfortable. The last lap was good, just not fast enough. Everything needs to be spot on to be on pole and today it just wasn’t.”