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 The clear bookmakers' favorite to win a third successive title
with Mercedes, Hamilton will arrive in Melbourne after a whirlwind
trip to New Zealand where he took to the skies in a helicopter on
Wednesday above the mountain resort of Queenstown.
Hamilton's frequent flying and party lifestyle prompted some pundits
to voice concerns about his focus and energy levels in the leadup to
Sunday's race at Albert Park.
However, the 31-year-old says his competitive drive remains as sharp
as ever and his feet will be firmly on the ground once he enters the
paddock.
"I know there's still more to come from me -- I think I've shown
that in the past two years," Hamilton, winner in Australia last year
and in 2008, said this week.
"There certainly needs to be some extra in my tank, as the
competition will be stronger than ever this year."
 Many invested in motor sport's pinnacle series will hope Hamilton is
right about the level of competition he expects to face this season.
Another win in Melbourne from pole position for the Briton could add
more voices to the growing weariness of the Silver Arrows'
dominance.
The constructors champions are bullish about their car after
near-flawless pre-season testing, however, and team mate Nico
Rosberg may again loom as Hamilton's stiffest competition in
Melbourne.
While Hamilton has been living life like there is no tomorrow, there
is also a sense that time is running out for his German rival, whose
Mercedes contract expires at the end of the season.
After Hamilton wrapped up his third title in Texas last year,
Rosberg closed out the season with three successive wins, and at
Albert Park he will hope to prove the late flourish owed more to his
racing than a dip in his team mate's motivation. RULE CHANGES
Ferrari, fired by four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, were the only
team to deny the Mercedes' drivers a sweep of race wins last year
and the new SF16-H car showed impressive speed during testing.
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With only 11 cars finishing last year's season-opener in Melbourne,
however, reliability will be paramount and that quality alone may be
enough to score points.
F1 bosses will hope Melbourne can lift the off-season gloom that has
hung over a series which drivers have criticized for being
over-complicated by rule changes and which commercial supremo Bernie
Ecclestone said he would not even bother taking his family to see.
A positive start by Haas, the first U.S.-owned outfit in 30 years,
would help, and the new team will look to upstage more seasoned
rivals like Sauber, who have the same Ferrari engine.
Indonesia's first F1 driver Rio Haryanto will also add a novelty
factor when he debuts for Manor Racing.
He is among three rookies set to make their race debuts, along with
German team mate Pascal Wehrlein and Britain's Jolyon Palmer at
Renault.
Along with the new drivers, F1's governing body will feel some
butterflies with the debut of a new qualifying format which sees
drivers progressively eliminated during the three phases rather than
knocked out at the end of each of them.
Introduced to make F1 more exciting but approved less than two weeks
ago, the new format has been slammed by drivers.
"I'm personally not a fan ... and I think, speaking on behalf of all
the drivers, no driver is," Vettel told Sky Sport.
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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