Everything you need to know about this weekend's race
Wednesday 16 March 2016 12:47, UK
Find out everything you could ever want to know about the Australian GP as the F1 season starts once more in Melbourne.
It's the 20th anniversary of the race being in Albert Park having switched from Adelaide in 1996 and it has become a firm favourite with fans and drivers.
After a year of Mercedes domination in 2015 the question on everyone's lips is whether anyone can take the fight to the Silver Arrows this season?
So read on below as Sky Sports Digital provides your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about the season-opening grand prix weekend.
The 2016 Australian GP in a nutshell
Track: Albert Park. Temporary circuit.
Race start time: 5am UK time Sunday (4pm local).
Laps: 58.
Track length: 5.303 km.
Tyre allocation: Medium (white), Soft (yellow) and Supersoft (red).
DRS Zones: Two with one detection point (Pit Straight and between Turns Two and Three).
Driver steward: Martin Donnelly.
Lap record: Michael Schumacher - 1:24.125 (Ferrari; 2004).
2015 pole: Lewis Hamilton - 1:26.327 (Mercedes).
Sky Sports F1 schedule
Thursday March 17
4am - Drivers' Press Conference - Live!
Esteban Gutierrez (Haas), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Rio Haryanto (Manor), Jolyon Palmer (Renault), Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
8:15pm - Drivers' Press Conference - replay.
8:45pm - Paddock Uncut: Australia.
9pm - Classic F1 - 1996 Australian GP.
Friday March 18
1am - Australian GP Practice One - Live!
5:15am - Australian GP Practice Two - Live!
7:30am - Team Principals' Press Conference - Live!
Cyril Abiteboul (Renault), Maurizio Arrivabene (Ferrari), Eric Boullier (McLaren), Gene Haas (Haas), Christian Horner (Red Bull), Toto Wolff (Mercedes)
8am - The F1 Show - Live!
9:30am - Australian GP Practice One - replay.
11:15am - Australian GP Practice Two - replay.
Saturday March 19
2:45am - Australian GP Practice Three - Live!
5am - Australian GP Qualifying - Live!
10am - Australian GP Qualifying replay.
11:10am - Ted's Qualifying Notebook.
12:10pm - Australian GP Qualifying replay.
Sunday March 20
3:30am - The 2016 Australian GP - Track Parade - Live!
4am - The 2016 Australian GP - Pitlane - Live!
4:30am - The 2016 Australian GP - Race - Live!
7:30am - The 2016 Australian GP - Paddock Live!
10am - 2016 Australian GP highlights.
11am - Ted's Race Notebook.
1pm - The 2016 Australian GP - replay.
4:15pm - 2016 Australian GP highlights.
7pm - Ted's Race Notebook.
Form guide
Jenson Button is the most successful driver on the current grid with three victories in Melbourne, with Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen's the only other multiple winners still racing. 2015 was the first time a team won the race in successive years since Renault in 2005 and 2006 proving just how unpredictable the GP can be.
2015 result: 1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes); 2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes); 3. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari); 4. Felipe Massa (Williams); 5. Felipe Nasr (Sauber); 6. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull); 7. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India); 8. Marcus Ericsson (Sauber); 9. Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso); 10. Sergio Perez (Force India).
Last five winners in Australia: 2015: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes); 2014: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes); 2013: Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus); 2012: Jenson Button (McLaren); 2011: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull).
Tyre allocation
This will be the first race weekend with new tyre regulations which allowed each driver to pick how many of each tyre they want from three of Pirelli's compounds.
The Italian firm will bring the white-marked medium, yellow-banded soft and red-marked supersoft compounds to the Albert Park Circuit for the opening race of the season.
Sky Bet odds
World champion Lewis Hamilton is favourite with Sky Bet to repeat his Melbourne success of 12 months ago.
Check out the full range of odds here.
The first race of the 2016 F1 season, the Australian GP, is exclusively live on Sky Sports F1. The race in Melbourne starts at 5am on Sunday March 20.
