Roundup: Hamilton begins title defence with start-to-finish win at Australian F1 GP

Lewis Hamilton started his Formula One title defence in perfect fashion after leading home a decimated field in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg crossed 1.3 seconds behind to make it a one-two finish in Melbourne for the Silver Arrows while, 34.5 seconds behind, an ecstatic Sebastian Vettel grabbed his first podium for Italian heavyweights Ferrari.

F1's youngest-ever driver, Max Verstappen, was robbed of a fairytale points-scoring debut when engine failure made the 17-year-old rookie one of five retirements. Only 11 finished the race of attrition with just five completing all 58 laps.

Hamilton, who started on pole in Melbourne for the fourth time, avenged his disappointing retirement in last year's race by dictating terms and maintaining a comfortable, if small, gap over Rosberg from start-to-finish.

"It is an incredibly feeling to continue winning," said Hamilton, the 2014 world champion, said after winning his second Australian Grand Prix. "I am very honored to be up here with these amazing drivers and great work from the team."

"Once you get a two-second sec gap, you just try to manage that," he said. "There's no need to eek out more. When Nico turned up the heat, I was able to react which was good. it was a phenomenal race for both of us."

The Silver Arrows bolted clear from the start to safely navigate the dangerous first corner. Pastor Maldonado could not, finding himself in familiar territory after his Lotus car was nudged into the second turn wall.

Hamilton caught his German teammate napping at a third-lap safety car restart and darted to a 2.7-second gap within two laps.

Rosberg, last year's race winner, said there was little he could do to overtake his teammate.

"Lewis made no mistakes so it was not possible to get closer than that, let alone try some sort of pass," said Rosberg.

As Hamilton countered each of Rosberg's moves, the pair vanished into the distance as Vettel and fourth-placed Williams driver Felipe Massa battled for the final podium spot.

Vettel managed to jump Massa, who started from third, after making the most of clean air when the Brazillian pitted on the 21st lap.

"Of course, it's not a victory, but for us, I think today feels like a victory," said Vettel who won the last of four consecutive world titles in 2013. "It is a great relief after a horrible season last year to know the car is working."

Finishing almost a minute behind the Vettel-Massa battle, debutant Felipe Nasr put Sauber's torrid week behind to finish his first race in fifth. Sauber, which was unsure whether it could race until court action was dropped on Saturday morning, rounded out a remarkable race with Marcus Ericsson also scoring points for his 8th place.

Toro Rosso will be disappointed with its disastrous race after Red Bull's sister team missed a golden opportunity to sit high on the points table due to a series of mishaps.

Verstappen showed his potential with a courageous pass on Ferrari veteran Kimi Raikkonen in the early laps and the Dutchman was on track to become the youngest point-scorer in F1's 65-year history.

But after his fantastic start from twelfth, a distraught Verstappen was forced to pull up on the 34th lap when his Renault engine failed shortly after a pitstop.

His teammate, fellow rookie Carlos Sainz, looked capable of challenging Nasr for fifth place before a horrible 50-second pitstop, when a left rear wheel-nut refused to budge, destroyed his aspirations of scoring double-digit points. He eventually crossed ninth to grab two points in the title race.

Australia's Daniel Ricciardo enjoyed a mixed home race by finishing a lap behind Hamilton in sixth ahead of Nico Hulkenburg, Ericsson, Sainz and Sergio Perez. Jenson Button was the only driver to finish without points in 11th with his McLaren-Honda the only car lapped twice.

Raikkonen lost drive 16 laps from the finish, moments after the Finn's pit crew had struggled with the left rear tire. Lotus' Romain Grosjean also retired after his Lotus experience a technical error.

The race started three cars down on the 18 that qualified on Saturday. Valtteri Bottas was ruled out on medical grounds due to an injured back while Daniil Kvyat and Kevin Magnussen both broke down on the formation lap.

The championship moves next to Kuala Lumpur's Sepang circuit for the Malaysian Grand Prix on March 29. Endite