The season-opening Australian Formula One Grand Prix is underway at Albert Park in Melbourne with only 15 cars in the starting grid.
There was drama in the opening lap as Lotus's Pastor Maldonado spun out and hit the barrier after the first corner, forcing him out for the rest of the race to reduce the field further to 14 cars.
Lotus team-mate Romain Grosjean's race is also over after he was wheeled into the pits in the second lap.
Lewis Hamilton started the race in pole position ahead of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, but Williams driver Valtteri Bottas was ruled out of the race with back pain.
Bottas's absence, after qualifying sixth fastest, saw local hope and Red Bull number one driver Daniel Ricciardo bumped up to sixth spot on the grid.
But Ricciardo will be the only Red Bull driver out on the tarmac after Russian team-mate Daniil Kvyat was ruled out with a gearbox issue.
McLaren driver Kevin Magnussen, who was meant to replace Fernando Alonso for the Melbourne Grand Prix, was also ruled out of contention after his car suffered engine problems in the pre-race warm-up.
Troubled F1 team Manor Marussia was another absentee from the grid after failing to get their cars ready for qualification due to a computer software problem.
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