Fatter tyres and changed aerodynamic rules have been introduced to improve grip, increase cornering speeds and make the cars faster than ever.

But no matter how many rules and regulations change, some things stay the same.

And on Friday, as the new F1 season roared into life at Albert Park, Lewis Hamilton once again stamped himself as the man to beat for the opening event of the new campaign when he was fastest throughout both practice sessions for the Australian Grand Prix.

Local fans were buoyed that Australian Daniel Ricciardo was competitive, third quickest in the first practice, fifth fastest in the second.

But he was still some way off the Briton's pace - a second behind in the final session. He was, however, faster than his precocious teammate, Max Verstappen, in both sessions.

The triple world champion Hamilton was fastest in both hour-and-a-half practice runs around the 5.3-kilometre street circuit, with his new Finnish teammate Valeri Bottas second best in the first session and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel taking that position in the second.

Hamilton posted a fastest lap of 1 minute 24.220 seconds during the 90-minute practice period that ran in dry conditions between noon and 1.30pm.

That was more than five seconds quicker than he set when he was fastest in the comparable practice period in 2016 - a clear illustration of the increased speeds of the wider, faster cars that have been designed for the 2017 season.

He went even faster in the second session, run in bright warm conditions between 4pm and 5.30pm, his best time of 1:23.620 seconds being more two-tenths of a second faster than the time he set to secure pole position for last year's race.

It will be fascinating to see just how much more pace Mercedes and the leading teams can wring out of their cars for the all-important qualifying session on Saturday afternoon.

Unless weather conditions change dramatically and there is a deluge, the times for qualifying should be much faster than they were on Friday afternoon.

Having had three hours of practice to refine set-ups, change performance parameters and experiment with fuel loads the teams now have plenty of data to prepare for Sunday's race.

Saturday's qualifying session will see the drivers go out to make a statement about just where they are at this early stage of the new campaign as well as securing the best starting position for the 58-lap grand prix.

In pre-season testing Ferrari had been quicker than Mercedes, giving rise to predictions that Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen - both former world champions - might be able to take the fight to Hamilton much more than last year.

Vettel had only been sixth fastest in the opening session, where he was one spot behind his team-mate Raikkonen, but he found more pace in the second when he was quicker than all bar Hamilton.

But he was still a respectful distance - some half a second - behind the Mercedes star, his best time of 1.24.67 seconds putting him fractionally in front of Bottas, who recorded a time of 1.24.176 in the afternoon sunshine. Ricciardo was fifth quickest but he was more than a second off Hamilton's pace.

Kiwi Scott McLaughlin took the chequered flag in the first of Friday's V8 Supercars races for DJR Team Penske, leading home his teammate Fabian Coulthard in a race that will be remembered for a spectacular crash involving Nick Percat and Leigh Holdsworth in the closing stages.

The brakes failed in Percat's rainbow-liveried Commodore and he spun off the infield to crash into Holdsworth with an impact speed estimated by Percat's team of 250km/h. Both drivers escaped injury but their cars were severely damaged.

In the second race, Coulthard reversed the order on McLaughlin.