• Norris sixth after running over Mercedes cooling fan in Q3

• Verstappen spins out in Q1 without setting lap time

When the talking finally stopped and the time came to lay down the cards in qualifying for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Formula One was forced to face two rather uncomfortable truths as the sport entered its new era in Melbourne.

The first will sit well with all at Mercedes at least, if less so elsewhere across the grid. Their front-row lockout achieved by an ominously dominant George Russell and his teammate, Kimi Antonelli, ended the pre-season phoney war with a bluntly emphatic stamp of complete authority. The team had attempted to play down their perceived advantage but at Albert Park, that they were top dogs was impossible to deny.