Preview: The 2018 Australian Grand Prix

After months of nothingness and a bit of playing in the snow in Barcelona, this weekend the F1-season finally gets going again, which means it's time to preview the Australian Grand Prix!

In terms of rules, for the first race of the season, there won't be thát much change. The biggest rule change reads that teams can only use three engines throughout the season instead of four. You'd think the effects of this won't be noticeable until later in the year, but it could mean that teams will be more conservative in their use of engines from the first race on.

The other change is a cosmetic one, as the halo will be making its full debut at Albert Park. The brace was made mandatory for the 2018 season due to safety reasons, which was met with a wave of criticism by many teams, pundits and drivers. The main criticism simply is that it's ugly and that the fans can't even see the helmet of the drivers anymore. Haas driver Kevin Magnussen also pointed out that it could obstruct the driver's view on tracks with altitude changes, like Spa Francorchamps in Belgium.

A quick jog of your memory in case you forgot what happened last season.

The weekend started with Lewis Hamilton grabbing his sixth pole position at Albert Park, and on Sunday it quickly became clear that the race would be between Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel after Daniel Ricciardo had to end his home race with a 'DNF'. A rare tactical mishap from Mercedes saw Hamilton exit the pitlane behind the RB13 of Max Verstappen, followed by the famous "I can't pass this guy!" Hamilton yelled over the board radio. Because of this Vettel was able to cruise to victory, signalling to Hamilton that the title race wouldn't be an easy one.

1. Sebastian Vettel   1:24:11.672

2. Lewis Hamilton          + 9.975

3. Valtteri Bottas          + 11.250

As Ricciardo stated, Mercedes will be the team to beat in Melbourne this year. You can add the Honey Badger himself, his teammate Max Verstappen and last year's winner Sebastian Vettel to the list of people who have the best chance of claiming the 25 points.

It's tough to have a feel for the teams after just pre-season, but it does seem that Mercedes still have the best package, narrowly followed by Red Bull, and Ferrari just behind the fizzy drinks manufacturer.

Should there be any rain involved, expect Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen to pull away from the pack. The two have both proven to be specialists in the rain, and Verstappen might even have a slight edge over Hamilton because of Red Bull's (supposedly) superior chassis.

1. Lewis Hamilton

2. Daniel Ricciardo

3. Max Verstappen

4. Sebastian Vettel

5. Valtteri Bottas

1. Max Verstappen

2. Lewis Hamilton

3. Daniel Ricciardo

4. Sebastian Vettel

5. Valtteri Bottas