Lewis Hamilton giving the thumbs-up after Saturday race

Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton picked up from where he left off last season after winning the curtain raising Australian grand prix in Melbourne on Sunday.

The Mercedes driver finished just ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg as Mercedes continued the Championship winning form from last season with another one-two on the podium.

After claiming a 30th GP win for Mercedes, Hamilton stated “My team did an amazing job today and it’s an incredible feeling to win” while being interviewed on the podium by movie star and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Rosberg on his part stated “I was trying every lap to my maximum and I will do all year. I will give him a big run for his money and hopefully beat him.”

Ferrari meanwhile showed massive signs of improvement from last season after new main driver and four-time world champion Sebastien Vettel finished third at Albert Park.

The dramatic race was riddled by early retirements, with Valtteri Bottas compelled to not race by the doctor having suffered an injured disc in his back during qualifying on Saturday.

McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen, racing in place of a recovering Fernando Alonso, was also forced to retire before the race as was Daniil Kvyat of Red Bull.

Pastor Maldonado of Lotus joined the list of casualties out of the race in just the first lap after making contact with Sauber’s Felipe Nasr; who went on to finish an impressive fifth to win Sauber its first points in over a year.

And with the Mercedes duo in a race of their own ahead of the field, former world champion Kimi Räïkkönen was forced to retire soon after his second pit stop.

The Ferrari driver’s left rear wheel was not properly fitted before he was allowed back in the race, an incident which could cause Ferrari to be punished by the FIA.

Eventually, only 11 cars finished the race, with Felipe Massa finishing fourth ahead of fellow Brazilian Nasr while Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo – who had an impressive debut season last year – could only manage sixth place ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, Marcus Ericsson and Carlos Sainz jr.