Analysis: Formula 1: What we learned from the first race of 2016

The Formula 1 (F1) Grand Prix season kicked off in the best possible fashion on Sunday - with racegoers in Melbourne treated to sublime driving, even better weather and a tumultuous but enthralling first race of the year.

It ended with Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg taking the checkered flag, and teammate Lewis Hamilton fighting off Ferrari's dogged Sebastian Vettel for second place on the podium.

Here are five things we learnt from the first race of the F1 season - excluding the qualifying debacle, which has already been scrapped by Formula 1.

Ferrari has been hiding something up its sleeve:

They reported very quick cars in testing, and qualified third and fourth, but the Ferrari team was mightily unlucky not to walk away with a win in Melbourne. Both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen had exhilarating fast starts, and jumped to a one-two lead over the much-favored Mercedes cars. As Vettel said after he finished third on the podium, the red flag which cut away a sizable advantage over his opponents "surely didn't help". Add to that an airbox issue for Raikkonen when he was well and truly cruising in second place and Ferrari could well have had two drivers on the podium come the end of the race.

Ferrari will this year prove to be more of a handful to the Mercedes team which dominated the constructors' championship in 2015, and with a few more fast starts and a little more luck, they could well challenge for the title.

Mercedes could be a little complacent after dominating 2015:

Despite Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton finishing first and second respectively, they were lucky to come away with the one-two finish thanks to a number of fortuitous events throughout the race. Ironically following on from Rosberg's comments on Saturday, in which he said it was important for Mercedes not to get complacent after blitzing the field last season, both Hamilton (pole) and Rosberg (second on the grid) were pounced on by a number of rivals in the very first lap. Hamilton's lackadaisical start resulted in him slipping to sixth after the third turn, and Ferrari drivers Vettel and Raikkonen quickly opened up multiple second leads on the rest of the pack.

Hamilton was then forced to tussle with gritty Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen, who, aside from some poor timing and a couple of ordinary team management decisions, could easily have finished in the top four. At one stage Hamilton explained to his team he couldn't catch the stroppy Verstappen, but as luck would have it, the red flag and a pit mix-up for Verstappen helped the Mercedes driver navigate the issue and hunt down his podium finish.

Meanwhile Rosberg also slipped down a place after the sluggish start, something which left him unsuccessfully chasing both Ferraris. However thanks, in part, to the drama which unfolded mid-race, Rosberg's patience (coupled with a superior machine) was ultimately rewarded by his first-place finish.

Fernando Alonso is lucky to be alive:

McLaren-Honda driver Fernando Alonso must have felt like a "bad guy's" stunt driver in a James Bond movie, after he was fortunate to have survived one of the biggest crashes in the history of the Australian Grand Prix. The Spaniard was chasing Haas driver Esteban Gutierrez on the 18th lap, and didn't expect his rival to brake as early as he did heading into a tight turn. The car of Alonso clipped the back-left wheel of a slowing Gutierrez, and Alonso - at full speed - lost control, hit the wall, spun off the rack and finished in a second wall. The devastating crash scene left fans and commentators with their hearts in their mouths, but remarkably the Spaniard got out of his cockpit shell and walked away, staring at what was left of his McLaren-Honda. Gutierrez, too, walked away from the wreck, after he also spun out onto the gravel. Doctors cleared Alonso of any injury just minutes later, but the collision - and trail of debris - forced race organizers to call a red flag and suspend the race for around 20 minutes as clean-up crews worked through the shrapnel.

New team Haas gets dream F1 start:

Formula 1 newcomer Haas (of NASCAR fame) shocked the F1 world on Sunday, collecting points in its first competitive race, after Romain Grosjean put in one of the best performances of the day. The Swiss driver began the race back in 19th position, and managed to climb a staggering 13 stops to finish sixth and well within the points in Haas' debut.

"This is a win for us," he told the team on the radio after finishing the race, "Unbelievable... sensational stuff."

Despite the elation, teammate Esteban Gutierrez crashed out of the race after colliding with Fernando Alonso during the 18th lap.

The unbridled drama of the F1s is finally back:

Most of all, after a poor three days of weather for the practice and qualifying rounds, the fans were treated to the very best of motor racing on Sunday. The stands were packed, the sun was out and the temperature hovered around 24 degrees Celsius throughout the afternoon. There was drama on the racetrack as well - the start was delayed due to Daniil Kvyat's car failing him before the race, and the notorious turn 1 at Albert Park forced Mercedes to chase the pack rather than lead it. Later, a spectacular crash - in which Fernando Alonso was lucky to escape unharmed - also grabbed the headlines.

Finally, a dogged battle for the second place only ended on the second last lap of the race as Sebastian Vettel was unable to force his way around Lewis Hamilton, who secured the Mercedes one-two for the first race of the Grand Prix season. Endit