Mercedes' anticipated pace was realised at the season opener in Australia where Hamilton took pole, although he was later forced to retire while teammate Rosberg won by over 20 seconds. In Malaysia, Hamilton won his first race of the season from pole in a Mercedes 1–2, the team's first since . In Bahrain, Hamilton qualified in second place as both Mercedes cars locked out the front-row. Hamilton engaged in a close duel with Rosberg throughout the race. A late safety car seemingly swung the favour to Rosberg, who had the benefit of being on a faster tyre, but after the restart Hamilton held firm in a close wheel-to-wheel encounter to take consecutive victories for the first time since . After the race the pair engaged in a mock fight, although it later emerged that Rosberg had used engine modes banned by Mercedes to give himself a power advantage over Hamilton in the closing laps.