Reflections on Melbourne

Firstly, I'd like to apologise for a distinct lack of posts on this blog up until now - allow me to take this opportunity to forewarn you that, from now on, there'll be fewer updates on here than you may have become accustomed to in the four seasons that have passed since I started this blog as a fresh-faced 17-year-old A-level student.

Now, I'm in my final term as a university student, with a dissertation lurking in the shadows, and last weekend I completed my first paid stint as a web contributor with Autosport magazine. On top of that, as some of you will already know, I'm also writing for a new sports website called Sport On Tap, which is now the main place you'll be able to read my scribblings on all things Formula 1.

With that out of the way, let's look back upon what was an intriguing and highly eventful first round of the new season in Australia.

Going into this season, many pundits had a certain feeling that this could be Nico Rosberg's year, and events at Melbourne certainly will have done little to dissuade them of their viewpoint. The German's victory was effectively sealed when Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton suffered his early engine problem, such was the margin of dominance that the Silver Arrows enjoyed over the rest of the field.

The fact that Rosberg set the fastest lap of the race on lap 19 - still carrying two thirds of a tank of fuel - suggests Mercedes have extra pace up their sleeve too. That means the next few races, certainly until the start of the European season at Catalunya, are likely to be between Rosberg and Hamilton, although the latter's retirement is a reminder that nothing can be taken for granted at this stage.

Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull was another early casualty, the reigning champion also falling victim to engine problems, but an assured performance from hometown hero Daniel Ricciardo in both a wet qualifying and the race ensured that the reigning constructors' champions still enjoyed representation on the podium - at least until the young Australian was stripped of a well-earned second place for exceeding the permitted fuel flow consumption rate.

Red Bull have cast doubt over the reliability of the sensors used by the FIA, choosing instead to rely on their own fuel data, but for the governing body to turn a blind eye to this would be to open a can of worms that could compromise the integrity of the sport. No-one likes having to wait four hours after a chequered flag for a result to be finalised, but equally Ricciardo's exclusion is far from the PR blunder some have chosen to portray it as.

The appeal will be heard on 14 April, after the Bahrain Grand Prix; let's hope for the sake of the sport - and this is coming from a big Ricciardo fan - that the FIA holds firm and that the appeal is unsuccessful.

But, exclusion or not, it's clear that Red Bull are already getting back up to speed after a troubled winter. The cooling issues that dogged the RB10 during testing appear to be behind them, while the Renault power-unit, whilst not totally reliable, looked more convincing down under than at any previous stage. Race wins are still beyond the team, but Red Bull do at least look to be firmly within the battle for best of the rest status behind Mercedes.

Another team in that group is McLaren, who ended up with both of their cars in the top three after Ricciardo was excluded - a terrific result for a team which appeared to lag behind Williams, Force India and Ferrari in testing. Even more impressive than the team's progress however was the performance of debutant Kevin Magnussen, who looked every inch as seasoned as his teammate Jenson Button en route to what would become second place.

The Safety Car proved instrumental in Button's rise from 10th on the grid to fourth at the chequered flag, and the Brit will have every reason to be concerned about just how quickly Magnussen appears to be adapting to life as a McLaren driver. After all, beating his rookie teammate over the course of the year must surely be the minimum requirement for Button to retain his seat for 2015 and reap the rewards of Honda's impending return to the sport.

If the first race of the season came as a pleasant surprise for McLaren, it will have come as something of a wake-up call for Ferrari, who lacked pace not only in comparison to Mercedes but also McLaren and Red Bull, as evidenced by both Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen getting stuck behind slower cars in the form of Nico Hulkenberg and Jean-Eric Vergne respectively for much of the race.

At least the Scuderia, unlike Mercedes and Red Bull, can take solace in the fact it was able to bring both of its cars home, but to do so in fourth and sixth places is hardly much to write home about. It's not time to panic just yet, but big steps will have be taken by Ferrari if they don't want to be left behind - particularly in the engine department, where it seemed the scarlet cars were most lacking in Melbourne.

The team which look like the biggest rivals to Mercedes at this point in time are in fact Williams, even if events in Australia conspired to restrict the Grove-based team to a haul of just 10 points for Valtteri Bottas's fifth place finish. If not for a rare moment of over-exuberance by the normally unflappable Finn which caused his Williams to brush the barriers at turn 10, the pace was there for Bottas to claim second behind runaway winner Rosberg.

The important thing is that Bottas learns from his error - after all, he'd never been so high up the order in a Grand Prix before - if he wants to beat teammate Felipe Massa this season. It was a shame that Kamui Kobayashi's brake failure prevented us from getting a clearer picture of where the two Williams drivers stand relative to each other, but both have to be regarded as serious podium contenders next time out at Malaysia.

Driver of the Race: It's close to call between Magnussen and Ricciardo, but we knew the former was capable of beating Button - that's why McLaren signed him. Ricciardo on the other hand had his doubters coming into the season, but the 24-year-old's performance in both qualifying and the race showed lucidly why Red Bull were right to sign him and not Raikkonen.

Overtake of the Race: Bottas was responsible for the bulk of the race's overtaking moves, but his best one came on lap eight, when he surged up the inside of compatriot Raikkonen at turn three before sweeping around the outside at the next corner to snatch sixth place.

Surprise of the Race: Toro Rosso, who were the only Renault-powered team to have either car classified after Ricciardo's exclusion. Daniil Kvyat in particular did a sterling job on his maiden race weekend, deservedly becoming the sport's youngest ever points-scorer.

Disappointment of the Race: Ferrari. I was convinced in the early stages that Alonso in particular was hanging back to save fuel and would launch a full-on podium assault in the latter half of the race, but I was proved wrong.

Malaysian Grand Prix Prediction: It's impossible to look past the Mercedes drivers for now, and I quite fancy Rosberg to take another victory - although, as long as Hamilton's car remains reliable, it will be fascinating to see how he responds to the challenge of saving fuel whilst simultaneously battling it out hammer and tongs for the win.