Lewis Hamilton will start on pole in the first race of the 2017 Formula One season, and he will want to lay an early marker down by dominating from start to finish in Melbourne.
After losing his title to Nico Rosberg last season, this campaign looks like Hamilton's to lose, considering he has the best car in the circuit again and a relatively inexperienced, at least in the really big leagues, teammate for company.
That teammate of Hamilton's – Valtteri Bottas – will start the Australian GP in third, with Sebastian Vettel doing really well to split the two Mercedes.
Ferrari do look as good as they have looked in recent years, and if there is one thing that isn't in doubt, it is Vettel's pedigree to perform on the big stage. With another former world champion in Kimi Raikkonen as their other driver, the Italian team do look capable of challenging Hamilton and Mercedes for the title.
The Red Bulls will also want to have a say, with Max Verstappen starting fourth on Sunday, while Daniel Ricciardo crashed in Q3 in qualifying in front of his home crowd, which means the Australian will only start in tenth place.
"I'm fine physically – emotionally I'm obviously a little disappointed," Ricciardo told F1's official website. "It happens. I have to try and have a bit of perspective, at least it didn't happen in Q1.
"We made a big step in Q2, it was looking alright, but then the [first lap] in Q3 was a little messy and Turn 14 just caught me out, caught me by surprise. I went in, the rear broke away, and unfortunately there wasn't a way of catching it or saving it."
Ricciardo will hope to get off to a flying start to make up as much as possible early on, and another driver looking to make an impression will be Bottas, who will know a lot will be expected from him, considering he is in the seat the reigning world champion vacated after deciding to retire from the sport.
"Third is not ideal, I think in general I'm not happy for the result," Bottas said. "Myself I didn't quite get any perfect laps in, so I'm not that satisfied.
"But Sunday is the day that matters. It seems that we have been quite strong on the practice starts, so hopefully we can keep that going."
When and where to watch live
The race is set to begin at 5pm AEDT, 10.30am IST, 5am GMT. Live streaming and TV information is below.
Australia: TV: Ten HD. Live Streaming: Ten Play.
India: TV: Star Sports SelectHD2. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
UK: TV: Sky Sports F1. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports.
USA: TV: NBCSN. Live Streaming: NBC Sports Live.
Asia: TV: Fox Sports. Live Streaming: Fox Sports Play.
Middle East: TV: Bein Sports. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
