Have Red Bull overtaken Ferrari? Three things we learned about the Australian Grand Prix from Friday practice

We were given some clues as to what lies ahead at the Australian Grand Prix as teams undertook practice at Albert Park on Friday. Here are three things to look out for over the weekend, with the sizable caveat that rain is expected on both Saturday and Sunday!

HAMILTON RULES AGAIN BUT THE BULLS ARE BACK

Whether on qualifying simulations or the longer runs, it was Red Bull, rather than Ferrari sticking closest to Mercedes, who once again look likely to be the team to beat in 2018.

Max Verstappen looks like the man to take the fight to Lewis Hamilton - he was within 0.016 seconds of the Mercedes on a grade harder tyres, with an offset estimated at 0.6 seconds by Pirelli.

The champion was quickest overall and delivered the best long-run averages, but Verstappen was just one hundredth off his outright top time and also got closest on race sims. Daniel Ricciardo might have delivered a more impressive time, where his flying lap not curtailed by a red flag - brought out by a broken wire on the pit straight.

If we do get rain on Saturday, or especially Sunday, a battle between the modern-day rain masters Hamilton and Verstappen could be a truly sensational way to start the season.

FERRARI GOING BACKWARDS?

Well, maybe. Even with hypersoft tyres on, Sebastian Vettel failed to match Hamilton and Verstappen on supersoft and soft compounds respectively and averaged around half a second per lap down on long-run pace.

Kimi Raikkonen showed that the red cars can get amongst the Mercedes and Ferraris - and don't forget how much quicker than anyone the Scuderia were in pre-season testing.

Also worth bearing in mind is a lesson from last season.

Vettel was half a second down on Hamilton in this session 12 months ago, but pulled out more time on Saturday and beat pole-sitter Hamilton to victory come race day.

There's a long way to go yet!

HAAS SET TO START FAST AGAIN

Haas have often started seasons fast - Romain Grosjean qualified sixth here last year, having finished in that position on the team's debut 12 months prior.

The Frenchman ended Friday's second session in sixth once again, just two tenths down on Vettel and just seven tenths away from Hamilton's leading time.

It looks between Haas and McLaren for honours behind the leading three, Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne both placing in the top 10 after exhaust issues in FP1.

But pre-season murmurs that Haas could be serious midfield players this season look to have been borne out, giving Alonso another obstacle in his attempts to get back in the fight at the front.

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Hamilton carries on where he left off, as Haas and McLaren mix with the 'big three' #AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/T3MrGezIFM — Formula 1 (@F1) March 23, 2018