Reigning Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton won Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix ahead of his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel finished third in the season-opening race at Albert Park in Melbourne with Australian Daniel Ricciardo in sixth place.

The Mercedes duo lapped all but three cars in a dominant performance in the 58-lap race.

Only 15 cars started following pre-race withdrawals of Valtteri Bottas (back injury) and mechanical failures of McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen and Ricciardo’s Red Bull Racing teammate Daniil Kvyat on the reconnaissance lap.

And just 11 cars finished the race with 17-year-old Max Verstappen, who became the youngest driver in a Formula One grand prix, among the retirements.

The victory of Englishman Hamilton continues Mercedes’ recent Formula One dominance – the team last year claimed the drivers’ and constructors’ titles and set a record for number of race wins in a season, 16.