Six talking points from the Australian GP

Lewis Hamilton picked up his seventh win in eight races to kick-start his F1 title defence in style at Melbourne, the Brit keeping Merc teammate Nico Rosberg at bay to underline his credentials as this year's title favourite.

Hamilton may have dominated from lights to chequered flag, but his crushing performance is not all the 2015 season opener will be remembered for...

‪The Melbourne grid was already looking a trifle empty when new team Manor failed to qualify after a software glitch, but things got even worse in Australia as another three drivers dropped out before the lights went out.

‪With Valtteri Bottas missing the race with a back injury, both Kevin Magnussen and Daniil Kvyat broke down on their reconnaissance laps, leaving 15 cars on the grid. That's the lowest for a season opener since 1958.

‪You know Mercedes are a long way ahead of their rivals when even their own drivers are hoping they're given a challenge. Nico Rosberg stated during the post-race press conference that he'd like to see his fellow racers give the Mercedes drivers a battle.

‪"I hope we can have a good fight," said Rosberg. "We know it would be good if they can come a bit closer, as long as they don't come too close..."

‪New Ferrari pilot Sebastian Vettel was quick to pick up on Rosberg's comments, and invited himself around for a tour of the Mercedes garage in Malaysia.

‪"I think your garage becomes public for Malaysia and everyone can have a look," said Vettel. "Engineers room? Debrief, I'll be there..."

‪If McLaren were expecting a return to the Senna glory days after teaming up with Honda, they're going to have to wait a while. Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen qualified dead last in Melbourne, a massive five seconds behind McLaren ex Lewis Hamilton.

‪McLaren's race pace wasn't much better either, with Button finishing two laps down and out of the points. Well, at least he made it to the end of the race...

‪The Sauber team at last found something to celebrate, after a dark weekend that at one point saw the courts threaten team principal Monisha Kaltenborn with imprisonment over issues surrounding Giedo van der Garde's contract.

‪But on the Melbourne tarmac, Marcus Ericsson finished eighth, with Felipe Nasr making a dream start to finish fifth, the best-ever result for a Brazilian driver on his debut. Impressive.

‪It wasn't just Felipe Nasr who impressed on his debut. Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen proved Toro Rosso were right to put their faith in youth, after both drivers put in respectable performances.

‪Sainz, son of the rally legend, finished in ninth despite a dodgy pit stop losing him a bucket-load of time, while Verstappen proved his critics wrong by running in the points before his Renault engine gave up at half distance.

‪Lewis Hamilton is no stranger to hanging with celebs, but even the reigning world champion seemed somewhat star-struck when action-movie legend Arnold Schwarzenegger appearing on the Melbourne podium to interview the top three.

‪Ham ‘n' Schwarz even shared a joke, performing Arnie's famous "I'll be back" catchphrase. With the pace advantage of the Mercedes, Hamilton will more than likely do just that at Malaysia in two weeks' time.