Australian F1 Grand Prix 2016 Results: Winner, Standings, Highlights, Reaction

Nico Rosberg grasped an early advantage in the race for the 2016 Formula One world championship, as the Mercedes man triumphed at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Rosberg and his team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who finished in second, had to fight back in this absorbing race after blistering beginnings from Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. The former finished in third, while the latter was forced to retire with his car engulfed in flames.

Elsewhere, it was a momentous day for the Haas team, who picked up points on their first-ever race day, with Romain Grosjean finishing in sixth. McLaren’s Fernando Alonso was involved in an awful crash early in the race, although the Spaniard remarkably walked away from the incident.

Here are the results in full from this one:

Pos.	Driver	Country	Team	Time
1	NICO ROSBERG	GER	MERCEDES	1:48:15.565
2	LEWIS HAMILTON	GBR	MERCEDES	+8.060s
3	SEBASTIAN VETTEL	GER	FERRARI	+9.643s
4	DANIEL RICCIARDO	AUS	RED BULL RACING	+24.330s
5	FELIPE MASSA	BRA	WILLIAMS	+58.979s
6	ROMAIN GROSJEAN	FRA	HAAS	+72.081s
7	NICO HULKENBERG	GER	FORCE INDIA	+74.199s
8	VALTTERI BOTTAS	FIN	WILLIAMS	+75.153s
9	CARLOS SAINZ	ESP	TORO ROSSO	+75.680s
10	MAX VERSTAPPEN	NED	TORO ROSSO	+76.833s
11	JOLYON PALMER	GBR	RENAULT	+83.399s
12	KEVIN MAGNUSSEN	DEN	RENAULT	+85.606s
13	SERGIO PEREZ	MEX	FORCE INDIA	+91.699s
14	JENSON BUTTON	GBR	MCLAREN	+1 lap
15	FELIPE NASR	BRA	SAUBER	+1 lap
16	PASCAL WEHRLEIN	GER	MANOR	+1 lap
NC	MARCUS ERICSSON	SWE	SAUBER	DNF
NC	KIMI RAIKKONEN	FIN	FERRARI	DNF
NC	RIO HARYANTO	INA	MANOR	DNF
NC	ESTEBAN GUTIERREZ	MEX	HAAS	DNF
NC	FERNANDO ALONSO	ESP	MCLAREN	DNF
NC	DANIIL KVYAT	RUS	RED BULL RACING	DNS

Any concerns that this showdown at Albert Park would be a Mercedes procession were banished in the nascent stages of the contest, as the two Ferraris surged to the front of the pack.

Lars Baron/Getty Images

Rosberg was able to cling on to Vettel and Raikkonen, although his team-mate, starting from pole position, was less successful, dropping down into sixth position. Hamilton suddenly had a mountain to climb if he was to get back in the hunt for the top spot here.

Indeed, as reported by F1 Racing on NBC, the world champion had some obdurate drivers in front of him to try to dislodge, and he was getting frustrated:

The race temporarily ground to a halt not long after, though, as Alonso got into a tangle with Esteban Gutierrez, who hit the brakes earlier than the Spaniard expected. Subsequently, the McLaren was tripped up by the Haas, propelled into the air and eventually into the barrier, prompting a red flag.

It was a spectacular crash, although there were immediate concerns for the wellbeing of Alonso. However, the two-time champion emerged from the wreckage and walked away. Here is footage of the incident, per David St. Martin:

Then, as the race restarted, McLaren confirmed on their Twitter feed that their driver was fine after a medical check:

The temporary stop allowed some of the drivers to adjust their set-ups and strategies, with Ferrari on the supersoft tyre and Mercedes on the medium compounds, seeking to go to the end of the race without stopping.

Clive Mason/Getty Images

From this point, the race went downhill for the Scuderia. Vettel should have been building up a gap at the front, yet he was unable to shake off Rosberg, who clung on gamely knowing the Ferrari man would have to stop again.

To add to their woes, the Italian team were soon down a driver. As these images illustrate from the Formula One Twitter feed, Raikkonen’s vehicle had caught ablaze:

It was a withdrawal that made things a little easier for Hamilton as he continued to move up through the field and to within touching distance of a podium place.

Meanwhile, at the front, Rosberg eventually began eating into Vettel’s advantage, triggering the Ferrari man to dive into the pits and put on a new set of supersoft tyres for the remainder of the race. It was a move that released the German and allowed his team-mate to move back up into second, but on the fresher and faster compound, Vettel went about hunting Hamilton down.

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

However, just when it looked as though the four-time world champion would overhaul the three-time champion, Vettel ran wide and off the circuit. It consigned the German to third position and saw Mercedes take the victory, with Hamilton following Rosberg over the finish line, to give the Silver Arrows a perfect beginning to the season.

Further down the field, Haas had done superbly to keep themselves in the upper echelons of the field in this incident-packed race, with Grosjean performing superbly to come home in sixth. DW Sports paid tribute to the efforts of both team and driver:

"It's been a great weekend," said Rosberg afterwards, per BBC Sport. "Thank you to the team they've done an incredible job. We loved it and I'm super excited. It's early days but it's the perfect start. We have to keep an eye on the red guys."

PETER PARKS/Getty Images

Rosberg will be delighted with this start to the campaign, continuing the momentum he built with three wins in succession to finish 2015. He was calm and collected throughout this frantic race, executing a near-immaculate drive. Hamilton, while recovering well eventually, was a little ragged in the early stages.

The opener bodes well for an exciting season to come. Overall, Ferrari’s pace was strong, and they’ve shown they’ll be devilishly difficult to contain off the line. So, while another Mercedes top two may seem monotonous, it’s unlikely Rosberg and Hamilton will have things their own way for the the entirety of this term.