Formula One 2017 preview: Will Lewis Hamilton regain the world title? Can Ferrari topple Mercedes?

Rosberg’s 2016 victory ended Hamilton’s two-year dominance in F1, and the German opted to retire at the top - becoming the first reigning champion to do so since Alain Prost in 1993 – instead of defending his crown.

All this means Hamilton is primed to re-claim the championship going into the inaugural race weekend of the 2017 season.

But will Hamilton lay down a marker at the Australian GP? Can Valtteri Bottas push his new team-mate? And what should be made of Ferrari’s pre-season promise?

With the first lights out of the season on the horizon, Michael Hincks looks at the burning questions surrounding the world’s fastest sport...

It’s Hamilton’s to lose, or so you will be told. Smarting from the pain of losing to Rosberg, the Brit will be hungrier than ever to clinch his fourth world title.

And in doing so Hamilton would leave behind five great drivers who have three championships (Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna) to join Vettel and Prost on four. Only Juan Manuel Fangio (five titles) and Michael Schumacher (seven titles) would then stand above Hamilton.

Hamilton himself has avoided talk of catching Schumacher, with the dream supposedly realised when he matched hero Senna on three back in 2015.

But at 32 time remains on Hamilton’s side – number four is very much on his mind, and early indications suggest Mercedes will be the force to contend with once more this season.

Joining Hamilton in the Mercedes paddock will be Bottas, who joins after four promising but altogether unspectacular years at Williams.

The Finn is yet to win an F1 race but has placed on the podium nine times, while he also finished above team-mate Felipe Massa in each of their three seasons together.

Pairing up with Hamilton is akin to entering a lion’s den designed for one and Bottas must be prepared to hold his ground against a partner who is more #TeamLH than #TeamMercedes.

Only time will tell if Bottas can handle the pressure of being Hamilton's team-mate. The 27-year-old is used to picking up points, but now is the time for pole positions and GP wins.

Pre-season testing in Barcelona will tell you that Ferrari have appeared to make more than just in-roads into Mercedes’ prolonged dominance - there's a growing belief that the experienced duo of Sebatian Vettel and Kimi Raikonnen could bring the constructors' championship back to Italy for the first time since 2008.

But what of the drivers' championship? Results from testing are invariably skewed due to a number of variables, but not even Hamilton could deny that the Ferrari looks frighteningly quick.

"I think Ferrari are bluffing and that they are a lot quicker than they are showing,” Hamilton said. "They are very close, if not faster. It's difficult right now to say who is quicker."

Reluctant to break character in this game of call my bluff, Vettel returned in kind – insisting Mercedes remain the team to beat.

"If you look at the amount of laps Mercedes has done, at how slow they go in testing historically, how much they can ramp it up for races, it's clear,” Vettel said.

"They're very fast if you look at their long-run pace. They're the ones to beat."

Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen could yet ruin Mercedes’ annual constructors’ championship party.

The dynamic Red Bull duo picked up a win apiece last season, with Ricciardo ending the campaign third - two places above Verstappen.

Their duel in Malaysia – which resulted in Ricciardo fronting Red Bull’s first one-two finish since 2014 – gave fans a glimpse of what these two can do.

Both have been touted as future champions, but Mercedes and Ferrari-shaped obstacles stand in their way of glory. Red Bull competing on a race-to-race basis this season would provide the sport with a much-needed injection of excitement – and they certainly have the drivers capable of upsetting Hamilton & co.