![]() Only 11 cars ultimately saw the chequered flag, but the fact that it was still Button who finished last – two laps down and the only driver out of the points – served to underline the massive challenge ahead for McLaren and Honda. The softly-softly approach, however didn't stop them losing Magnussen's car on the way to the grid on Sunday, the Dane rendered a mere spectator for the season-opener. In order to simply get through the sessions in the warm conditions of Albert Park, Honda had to run their power unit "very conservatively" and, as a result, Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen, who was filling in for the convalescing Fernando Alonso following the Spaniard's mysterious Barcelona testing crash three weeks before, consistently ran over three seconds off Mercedes' leading pace. ![]() With the revived Manor team in Melbourne but not appearing on the track at any stage of the weekend, it was the eight-time constructors' champions who suffered the ignominy of qualifying last for the first time in living memory. ![]() While McLaren's troubled first winter back in tandem with Honda had suggested they were in for a tough start to the new season, few truly expected the team to be propping up the grid at the first race. ![]()
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