Formula 1 2017 season preview: Teams, drivers and races, as Ferrari bids to reclaim world title. The most important news and information you need to know about the 2017 season.

The stage is set for the 68th Formula 1 world championship season after the retirement of winner Nico Rosberg at the end of 2016, which makes 2017 the very first F1 season without a defending champion at the start since 1994.

The Formula 1 2017 championship will begin in Melbourne with the Australian Grand Prix on March 26 and will end in Abu Dhabi on November 26, after what should be a very intense and fiercely contested year.

Here is some of the most important news and information you need to know about the 2017 season.

2017 Formula 1 driver line-up

Nico Rosberg’s sudden decision to retire from the competition as world champion at the end of last season lead to major changes ahead of the new championship. Valtteri Bottas was signed by Mercedes from Williams in order to replace Rosberg, while former Scuderia Ferrari driver, Felipe Massa, had the opportunity to came out of the shortest retirement ever, as he was immediately recalled by Williams to join 2016 European Formula 3 title-holder Lance Stroll.

Jenson Button decided to leave Formula 1, at least for the 2017 season, and has been replaced with Stoffel Vandoorne by McLaren Honda, while Pascal Wehrlein will now drive for Sauber after the release of Brazilian Felipe Nasr.

Scuderia Ferrari: 5 Sebastian Vettel (Germany), 7 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland)

Mercedes AMG Petronas: 44 Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain), 77 Valterri Bottas (Finland)

Red Bull: 3 Daniel Ricciardo (Australia), 33 Max Verstappen (Holland)

Renault: 27 Nico Huklkenberg (Germany), 30 Jolyon Palmer (Great Britain)

Sahara Force India: 11 Sergio Perez (Mexico), 31 Esteban Ocon (France)

Haas: 8 Romain Grosjean (France), 20 Kevin Magnussen (Denmark)

McLaren Honda: 2 Stoffel Vandoorne (Belgium), 14 Fernando Alonso (Spain)

Sauber: 9 Marcus Ericsson (Sweden), 94 Pascal Wehrlein (German)

Scuderia Toro Rosso: 26 Daniil Kvyat (Russia), 55 Carlos Sainz Jr (Spain)

Williams Martini: 18 Lance Stroll (Canada), 19 Felipe Massa (Brazil)
Who is the favourite for the 2017 Formula 1 season and what are their odds?

Lewis Hamilton starts the season as favourite to win the 2017 F1 championship (11/10), while the man who replaces Nico Rosberg, Valtteri Bottas, is not credited with many chances (11/2). Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel is seen as Hamilton’s main contender (10/3), while Verstappen, Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen are the only other drivers given a hope at between 8 and 10/1 with all other drivers in the hundreds and even thousands.

The complete F1 race calendar can be found here.

The full list of channels that are showing the races live can be found here.