Ah there it is - that roar of the engines for the first time on a Sunday as the pit lane opens and the cars head out to the grid.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Melbourne

Image source, Getty Images

Like Williams, Force India are lower on the grid than they have become accustomed to, with Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon qualifying 13th and 15th. Perez said: “I think the end result reflects where we are at this moment.”

But the team remain optimistic for the season in general.

“Our performance today was not dissimilar to our qualifying result here 12 months ago and it’s not a massive surprise to miss out on the top 10,” deputy team boss Bob Fernley said.

"We’ve introduced a significant upgrade package and only fitted it to the cars for the first time on Friday so we’re on a steep learning curve at the moment. It’s delivering performance, but we know there’s more potential to come from it in the races ahead.”

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Pole position isn’t everything in Australia - only two of the last eight races have been won from pole.

And there's hope for Daniel Ricciardo, who starts today's race from eighth. Eddie Irvine famously fought his way up from 11th to take victory for Ferrari in 1999.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, F1.com

There's a roar in the skies above the circuit at the moment as a few planes blast overhead.

Excitement is building with just over 30 minutes until lights out.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Melbourne

Williams start 14th and 19th with Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin, a position technical chief Paddy Lowe described as “disappointing because I actually think there was more in the drivers and the car”. They were expected to start the season poorly, after a difficult time pre-season.

But their predicament highlighted a problem with their driver choice this season - how can Williams ever know the true level of their car when they have a rookie (Sirotkin) and someone in his second year (Stroll), who was about 0.7secs off Felipe Massa last year.

Take that margin off Stroll’s time, and it puts a Williams between the McLarens in 12th place.

Blue skies and bright sunshine at the moment but anything can happen in Melbourne.

Check out the forecast in the video below.

Joanna Harran: Right I am up, plenty of coffee to hand. Morning all. Hope first race is a good one for McLaren.

Image source, .

Who do you think will win the season opener?

Predict the top three here.

Glad to see you didn't get caught out by the clocks going forward, Kayleigh!

Have to say, I absolutely loved losing an hour's sleep today. Loved it...

Kayleigh: Good mooooorning! It’s an F1 day, so that automatically means it’s going to be a good day. Hoping for a decent race, points for both McLarens would be amazing.

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Lewis Hamilton, speaking on the parade lap: "What a great crowd we have to say and I'm so glad.

"We will do everything we can to stay ahead of Ferrari, they will put up a good fight but hopefully we can too."

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Melbourne

Image source, Getty Images

Haas came here with big expectations on them after impressing in testing and they have well and truly delivered, with Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean starting best of the rest in fifth and sixth, following Daniel Ricciardo’s penalty.

"I'm really proud of the team, and impressed,” Magnussen said. “We've got a car that's competitive here, it's the fourth-best car on the grid this weekend. This team is the smallest on the grid, and if not the lowest then one of the lowest budgets and the least amount of people and resources. And yet we've got the fourth best car on this track in qualifying. I'm impressed by that.”

Some, though, are less impressed - Fernando Alonso McLaren, in particular, grumbling about the similarity between the Haas car and the Ferrari, from whom Haas buy everything but the monocoque and aerodynamic surfaces.

Magnussen is no shrinking violet - as anyone who remembers his verbal altercation with Nico Hulkenberg in Hungary last year will know - and he had a tasty rejoinder this time, too, although he avoided mentioning sensitive body parts this time. “He's annoyed that we're in front," said the Dane. "I wonder why? I've been to McLaren. I've raced for that team and seen the infrastructure. Compared to this, it must be annoying.”

Technical problems already for Sebastian Vettel... his parade car wouldn't fire up!

Thankfully a couple of marshals were on hand to push him around the grid.

Take the rest of the day off, guys.

Image source, F1.com

Image source, Getty Images

That headline, and Sebastian Vettel wearing his baseball cap back to front, may make it sound like he is embarking on a career as a 1990s rapper but that's actually how many podiums he is on heading into today's race.

If he finishes in the top three today he'll become just the fourth driver in F1 history to claim 100 podium finishes.

The others are Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Melbourne

Kimi Raikkonen has been right with Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel so far in Australia, and it is the Finn rather than the German who starts alongside Lewis Hamilton on the front row.

Vettel admitted to not being happy on Friday - “I didn’t really feel the car,” he said. Things improved on Saturday but Raikkonen was still quick enough to ensure that a mistake from Vettel in Turn 13 to push the four-time champion down to third.

Ferrari will be wanting Raikkonen out of the way sharpish so Vettel can challenge Hamilton. If that turns out to be possible.

Although I also like this version...

Image source, Australian GP

Here they are! The class of 2018...

Image source, F1.com