Formula 1: Nico Rosberg wins 2016 Australian Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg has won the 2016 Australian Formula One Grand Prix - the first race of the season. Lewis Hamilton, Rosberg's Mercedes team mate finished second and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel finished in third place.

Hamilton, who qualified in pole position had a poor start and dropped down the order at the end of the first lap. The Ferraris of Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen jumped to first and second position respectively with Rosberg in third.

However, a crash on lap 16 between McLaren's Fernando Alonso and Haas F1's Esteban Gutierrez saw the race being red-flagged and this did not suit Ferrari's tyre strategy. Further, Raikkonen was forced to retire on lap 22 with an engine failure. On lap 35, Rosberg took the lead and Hamilton moved up to second, when Vettel pitted for a fresh set of tyres.

Vettel re-joined the race in fourth, got past Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and caught up with Hamilton. However, he ran wide at the penultimate corner with two laps remaining and could no longer challenge the Mercedes driver. Ricciardo, Felipe Massa, Romain Grosjean, Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen rounded up the list of top ten finishers.

At the end of the Australian Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg leads the 2016 World Drivers' Championship with 25 points. Lewis Hamilton is in second place with 18 points and Sebastian Vettel in third with 15 points. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes leads with 43 points, while Ferrari and Williams are in second and third positions with 15 and 14 points respectively.