Nico Rosberg claimed victory at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix after holding off Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Rosberg started the race from second but lost a place in the opening corner after a blistering start from Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. 

The German managed to get past Raikkonen and into second but a red flag on lap 19 saw the race halted following a frightening crash between McLaren's Fernando Alonso and Esteban Gutierrez in the Haas. 

The stoppage worked in Mercedes' favour, with Rosberg able to take the lead on lap 35 after Vettel was forced to stop for a new set of tyres.

Rosberg led the rest of the grand prix to win for a second time in Melbourne, claiming a fourth-successive victory in F1 after taking out the last three races of the 2015 season.

Defending world champion Hamilton came home in second after fending off a late charge from Vettel, while Australian Daniel Ricciardo finished fourth at his home grand prix.