Lewis Hamilton is back out on the circuit and has a set of super softs on. His first flier coming up?

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It's going to be fascinating to see how McLaren get on this weekend, considering the shocker they had in pre-season. Numerous engine changes and a failure to complete a race distance at any point during the eight days of testing is a huge cause for concern.

McLaren boss Zak Brown has just been talking to Tom Clarkson on BBC Radio 5 live about their situation.

"It's going to take some time," he says. "It's not going to be an easy year. We are committed to Honda".

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Melbourne

It was clear from testing that Force India were not in the same competitive position they had enjoyed last year, when they finished a historic best of fourth overall. One of the reasons for this became apparent on Thursday, when it emerged the car was heavier than expected - and Sergio Perez has been working hard to lose weight as a result. 

The Mexican has dropped two kilograms since the end of testing two weeks ago. “I have tried so hard to lose weight in the last couple of weeks since Barcelona,” said Perez. 

"Obviously I increased my weight from last year purely by training harder, putting on more muscle, but I was on an extreme diet all last week and still now until Saturday [I will do the same]. I am all the time very hungry. As much weight as I can lose, the better it will be for us.”   

Image source, Getty Images

And as I press send on that last entry, Lance Stroll fires up the Williams and heads back out with just over an hour left on the clock.

It's all quiet on the track at the moment, with everyone back at base after completing an installation lap. 

Mark Gallagher
BBC Radio 5 live Formula 1 analyst

There is a fear down the paddock that the new regulations could result in a bit of a procession. The cars are harder to follow. This begs the question why have these regulations if the racing is not going to be better? 

The cars look better, they are going to be faster and more physically demanding to drive but in terms of wheel to wheel racing, that remains to be seen.

Kayleigh: Does the new regs mean we have more racing, instead of cars flying off into the distance?  

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Melbourne

In Thursday’s pre-event news conference, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel claimed each other was the favourite for this season - rather as they had during pre-season testing.  

Vettel talked about Mercedes’ domination of the last three years and said they would not have become slow overnight; Hamilton said he believed Ferrari had the fastest car. And the feeling in the paddock is that Hamilton could be telling the truth. It all points to a close season. 

Ferrari have flattered to deceive before, of course, and only this weekend will prove it definitively. But, finally, Ferrari appear to be genuinely competitive.

Alan James: Sitting in Davao City in the Philippines. Nice to have a GP at a decent time. Wife is out so uninterrupted practice.  

Andrew Benson has gone out for a wander to see the new cars first hand. He's impressed.

Esteban Ocon emerges in the pink Force India, meaning everyone has now been out for a lap.

They're quite a colourful bunch as Fernando Alonso weaves his way around the circuit in the orange McLaren.

He successfully completes a lap. Happy days.

We get to see this beauty for the first time today. 

Force India are racing in pink this season, with their livery inspired by sponsor BWT.

It looks like pretty much everyone has been out for an installation lap apart from the Red Bulls.

It's going to be interesting to see how Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas get on as team-mates. Both have been getting on swimmingly so far, but will that remain the case in the heat of a title battle?

Hamilton is out on the track now and he's reporting an early - and unusual - issue.

"I need to change my boots," he says.

Righto...

Image source, Getty Images

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Friday’s first practice session will provide the first indications of whether Ferrari’s real form can live up to its pre-season promise. 

If it does, rivals believe that a large part of their progress from 2016 can be attributed to what one opposing team boss called a “major” engine upgrade. The chassis seems perfectly fine, but not what has made the major difference.

Green light!

The 2017 Formula 1 season is a go.

Image source, .

Handily, we have a graphic that shows how the cars are different to last year. Lower, wider, fatter tyres and faster basically.

Want more deets? Check out Andrew Benson's excellent explainer here.

Jack Nicholls
Radio 5 live Formula 1 commentator

The cars have been made wider, they have bigger, fatter tyres so there is more contact between the car and the ground so they can go faster and there are also more aeroydnamics so they will be faster round the corners as well.