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This year's season-opener has the added excitement of being the first race for the brand new 1.6-litre turbo hybrid power units.

It's sure to be an unpredictable weekend at Albert Park and one wonders how many cars will make the finish line on Sunday evening. When Melbourne first hosted the Australian Grand Prix in 1996, only 11 cars reached the chequered flag.

STATISTICS*
Albert Park street circuit
Circuit length 5.303 km
Race laps 58
Race distance 307.574 km
Lap record 1m24.125 (MSC, 04)

Albert Park Circuit (Image: Mercedes AMG)

Circuit characteristics
Number of corners 16 (6 left,10 right)
Distance to first corner 265 m
Braking events 8 (6 heavy)
Pit lane length under speed limit control 289 m
Pit lane time at 60 km/h 17.3 s
Tire energy (1 = low / 3 = high) 2
Brake energy (1 = low / 3 = high) 2
Race Characteristics (2004 - 2013)
Races featuring safety car 5 (06, 08, 09, 10, 12)
Total safety car deployments 11
Historical safety car probability 50%
Winners from pole position 6
Lowest winning grid position
P7 (RAI, 13)

2013 Race Stats
Fastest lap P1 1m27.211 (VET)
Fastest lap P2 1m25.908 (VET)
Fastest lap P3 1m26.929 (GRO)
Fastest lap Q1 1m43.380 (ROS)
Fastest lap Q2 1m36.194 (ROS)
Fastest lap Q3 1m27.407 (VET)
Fastest race lap 1m29.274 (RAI)
Race speed trap 310.7 km/h (VER)
Podium RAI, ALO, VET
Winning strategy 2 stops (L9, 34)

*Supplied by Petronas Mercedes AMG