As Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews gets the traditional boos for politicians from an Australian sporting crowd the trophies are handed out.

Here comes the champers, and that’s it for the first race of the season. Thanks very much for joining us today, and good to luck to your favourite teams and drivers for the rest of the season.

And that’s it from Melbourne. Obviously Mercedes will be overjoyed, but Ferrari will also be thrilled at Vettel’s debuted.

The biggest party tonight might be courtesy of Sauber, who failed to score a point all last year and went through that taxing week of legal drama just to get the drivers they wanted.

Promoters of the race might also be doing a cheeky fist-pump at the chance to sell tickets to Ricciardo trying to break through again next year.

Final placings (pending any 2014 style late disqualifications)

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes – 1.360 seconds back)
3. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
4. Felipe Massa (Williams)
5. Felipe Nasr (Sauber)
6. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bul)
7. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India)
8. Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)
9. Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso)
10. Sergio Perez (Force India)
11. Jenson Button (McLaren)

Lap 57: Lewis is unchallenged as he crosses the line and starts the final lap. Make a place in the trophy cabinet.

Lap 56: It’s two seconds the gap as time ticks away in the first race of the season.

Lap 55: Looks like Vettel will successfully defend third now, as Rosberg continues to stay within touching distance of Hamilton without making a move.

Lap 54: Lewis opens up a 1.6 second gap while Sainz and Ericsson battle over 8th. Waiting to hear from a team reminding them that only one driver in this race will miss points.

Lap 53: It’s 1.5 seconds the gap with five laps remaining and Rosberg checks in for some cryptic fuel chat with the team.

Lap 52: Williams are really going for the podium. Go on Felipe, give us a grandstand finish.

Rosberg claws back 0.6 on Hamilton at the front.

Lap 51: Button now the odd man out of the points. Last on the grid, last on the track and not a visit to Melbourne that Jenson will remember fondly.

Lap 50: If you’re cynical enough to believe the Mercedes cars won’t be involved in any daring moves it seems like the live battle is Vettel vs Massa. Advantage is currently 2.5 seconds to Seb.

Lap 49: The speculated second stop for Rosberg never eventuated, so here’s hoping he’s got enough juice to get him to the finish line.

Lap 48: The margin at the front is back under 2 seconds, but it’s hard to see Rosberg going for it in the last 10 laps. Mercedes will be (unofficially of course) happy to bank the top two spots and move on to Malaysia.

Lap 47: Hamilton continues to lead, but in the other battles Massa is starting to breathe down Vettel’s neck and Nasr is pulling away from Ricciardo in the scrap for fifth.

Lap 46: It was a terrible day for Lotus, and their Twitterist might need a hug.

Lap 45: Vettel has got 3 seconds on Massa in the battle for third, but the garage is telling him that he’s faster than the fuel-saving German.

Lap 44: Hamilton extends his lead to 2.2 seconds while Marcus Ericcson survives a trip off the track and is forced to pit.

Lap 43: Sergio Perez the unlucky man to be out of the points with only 11 runners left. Gap at the front now 1.6 seconds.

Lap 42: Rosberg is still clinging to Hamilton, 1.9 seconds behind.

Lap 41: Raikkonen is are OUT. The left rear tire wasn’t fully applied when he took off and it has cost him points.

Lap 40: The gap is 2.4 seconds and there are some concerns about Rosberg’s fuel load. Will he pit again to be sure of making the end?

Lap 39: Current standings

1. Hamilton
2. Rosberg (+2.4)
3. Vettel (+20.4)
4. Massa (+24.8)
5. Raikkonen (+29.7)
6. Nasr (+56.1)
7. Ricciardo (+57)
8. Hulkenberg
9. Ericsson
10. Sainz

Lap 38: As Rosberg is told to conserve fuel he loses .4 of a second to a new fastest lap from Hamilton. Down the field Ricciardo has been told “You’re faster than Nasr, let’s ‘ave him” in the race for sixth.

Lap 37: While Perez and Sainz battle over the last points at the other end of the field it’s Hamilton extending the gap on Rosberg to 1.6 seconds.

Lap 36: As we see Verstappen taking the long, lonely walk down pit-lane, the gap between Hamilton and Rosberg narrows further to 1.5 seconds.

Lap 35: The gap is under 2 seconds now, and it could be race on at the front.

Lap 34: Max Verstappen is OUT. He reports smoke in the car after a stop and then pulls over to the side of the track. Unfortunate for the rookie when debut points were very much on offer.

Lap 32: Raikkonen is still motoring around the circuit quicker than anyone but finds himself marooned in fifth.

Lap 31: Well over half way now and it’s not been a classic GP by any means. Hamilton’s still got 2.4 seconds on Rosberg, so neutrals will be hoping that they throw caution to the wind and have a go at each other late in the race.

Lap 30: Vettel is currently 11 seconds behind the leaders, and he’s pulling away from fourth placed Massa.

Lap 29: Rosberg is on the move too.

Lap 28: Kimi continues to slice away at the lead, but he’s got to get past Massa and Vettel yet.

The only drivers not in the points at the moment are Ericsson, Sainz and Button.

Lap 27: Both of the Mercedes cars have now had their one planned stop, and Hamilton will be odds on to win from here with a lead of around four seconds.

Raikonnen sets a new fastest lap but he’s seemingly got too much to do to catch Hamilton and Rosberg.

Lap 26: Rosberg temporarily opens up a lead of 19 seconds, but he’s in at the end of the lap and cedes first place back to his team-mate.

Lap 25: Carlos Sainz suffers the first pit disaster of his career, as the crew are unable to get a wheel off. Rosberg takes over the lead while Hamilton pits.

Lap 24: Massa is told by his team to push hard and get out in front of Vettel. “It’s qualifying! It’s qualifying!” says his mechanic. It doesn’t work, and the Ferrari gets out in front.

Lap 23: Massa has a go at Ricciardo for 5th and doesn’t get him, only for Dan to temporarily settle the issue by pulling into the pits. Vettel will be in next.

Lap 22: A recap of those who are out of the race – Bottas of Williams failed to started due to a back injury, Kvyat and Magnussen both broke down in the warm-up, Maldonado crashed out and Grosjean was forced to retire with mechanical issues.

Lap 21: It’s Lewis by 3.2 seconds courtesy of another fastest lap, while Massa comes in for his one scheduled stop and is in and out with no drama.

Lap 20: We haven’t lost a starter for a while, and as it stands rookies Nasr and Verstappen are both in the points.

Lap 19: Raikonnen temporarily steps in between the two Mercedes car by setting a new fastest lap after his stop, but Hamilton and Rosberg are doing it easily at the moment.

Lap 18: Current standings

1. Hamilton
2. Rosberg
3. Massa (about 10 seconds down on Rosberg)
4. Vettel
5. Nasr
6. Ricciardo
7. Sainz
8. Verstappen
9. Hulkenberg
10. Ericsson

Lap 17: Kimi pits but loses time with a slow exit, leaving him back down the field but temporarily out of the battle with Ricciardo.

Lap 16: It’s a 2.3 second lead for Hamilton, no change in the top 10.

Lap 15: Jensen’s garage responds to the biff with Perez by reminding him there’s only 13 cars left and points might be on offer. I put that through Google Translate and it came out as “Don’t crash fighting for 12th”.

Lap 14: The Perez vs Button battle rages as the Force India man spins. There’s debris left on the track, and Perez tells his garage that he doesn’t think it’s from hsi car. Replays suggest otherwise.

Lap 13: It’s out to a 2 second gap in Lewis’ favour, while back in the pack Nasr and Ricciardo both lock up with Kimi hot on their tail.

Lap 12: Mercedes are running a race of two at the front, and don’t they know it.

At the other end Jenson Button and former team-mate Sergio Perez are scrapping over 12th place.

Lap 11: Raikonnen’s gaining on Ricciardo in the battle for 6th, but Dan’s just holding on. It’s not looking like a popular local victory is on the cards at the moment. At the front Lewis has restored a 1.7 second gap.

Lap 10: Rosberg’s getting closer, only 1.2 seconds back at the end of the lap but they’re both comfortably in front of Massa in third a further 6.1 seconds behind.

Lap Nine: Raikkonnen has passed Sainz to move up to seventh, and the Toro Rosso rookie continues to slide back in the field after a quick start. The gap at the top is down to 1.5 seconds.

Lap Eight: Race order unchanged, the middle of the thin field is bunched up together but nobody’s pushing for position yet. Hamilton continues to lead.

Lap Seven: Sergio Perez runs into the gravel while adjusting his visor but recovers. He remains in 13th and last place for now. At the front it’s looking like only bad luck can beat Mercedes at this point.

Lap Six: Current standings

1. Hamilton
2. Rosberg
3. Massa
4. Vettel
5. Nasr
6. Ricciardo
7. Sainz
8. Raikkonen
9. Verstappen
10. Hulkenberg

Lap Five: It’s a 2.5 second lead for Lewis Hamilton over Rosberg, and for home fans the news is that Ricciardo is up to sixth

Lap Four: Hamilton continues to lead comfortably while rookies Carlos Sainz and Felipe Nasr battle over 5th place.

Meanwhile Segio Perez has been ordered to give his place back to Ericsson after passing under the safety car.

Lap Three: Safety car in and we’re down to 13 runners for the next 55 laps. Hamilton leads from Rosberg, Massa and Vettel.

Lap Two: Marcus Ericsson ducks in for a tire change and Roman Grosjean is the latest casualty as Lotus’ mechanics wheel him into the garage.

Replays reveal it was Vettel who nudged Raikkonen and caused the chain-reaction.

Formation Lap – No dramas, but we’ve heard audio of Mercedes warning Hamilton about some oil left behind by Magnussen’s blow-up. They’re just pulling up to the grid now and we’ll be off any moment. Good luck all!

Christian Horner from Red Bull confirms it was gearbox issues which put Kvyat away. Looks like the other 15 will start as planned.

Meanwhile, Arnie gags on a postcard to the usual address please.

Courtesy of the traditional pre-race photo here’s your 2015 driver line-up – with the exception of the absent Valterri Bottas but including Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi of Manor Marussia. Let’s hope everyone else pictured makes it to the start.

More drama! Daniil Kvyat has slowed to a stop as well, and we’re down to 15 starters. If it keeps going like this for another 20 minutes all drivers will be receiving points simply for participating.

Early drama! Kevin Magnussen has broken down on the first warm-up lap and will not be able to take his place on the grid. McLaren’s nightmare weekend just gets worse.

We’re down to 16 starters. What’s the last time we had this few on the grid in a non-boycott affected race?

Now that the race is so well-established in Melbourne (despite other cities occasionally trying to nick it) it’s easy to forget how controversial the Albert Park race was when Victoria first wrested it away from Adelaide in the mid 90’s.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has put together a retrospective featuring some of the earliest, and most strident, anti-GP protests. Scroll right to the bottom for amazing footage of then Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett unexpectedly turning up to watch live as more than 10,000 people gathered to protest against him.

Here’s a look at what’s in front of us today. Anybody willing to tip a winner other than Hamilton or Rosberg?